AiE: Summer Camp, Part 1

It was April and my sophomore year was wrapping up. I was in a relationship that was on the rocks, although he wasn’t yet aware of that little fact. I had applied – and been rejected – for an undergraduate research position. I had no idea where I was going to land for the summer; all I knew for sure was that I needed a job and I was not interested in staying in Sioux Falls.

Remembering a conversation I’d had with an acquaintance earlier that year, I found myself searching for an email address. “Mr. Jensen: Hi, I’m a friend of Nate…”

It would be the first of approximately four times I was that formal. Scott admitted to having a couple more spaces open for summer staff and agreed to meet me – after he got back from an Easter trip. A couple weeks passed before we met for a burger at Hardee’s; I brought my resume like I’d been taught. He didn’t so much as glance at it while we talked but gave me an application to fill out.

Two days later, he was back in town to collect my application and offered me the job right then. Just like that, I was lined up to spend my summer at Storm Mountain Center.

Sixteen years later, it’s amazing the things that stand out. I still remember how relieved I was to have something lined up (and just in the nick of time). I remember how excited I was to be going back to a place that had been central to my summers in middle school. And oh, I was so happy to be staying in the Hills.

The job? The job was unlike anything I had pictured myself doing.

To start with, there was our cabin, housing 11 of us in about 1,200 (old and broken down) square feet with two bathrooms. It was a lot to ask -- packing us in there, then expecting us to live, work, and play together for three months. Friendships and romantic relationships bloomed, forged by the kind of togetherness not even found in our college dorms.

Mysteriously, we mostly got along. I didn't realize at the time how rare we were; later years would tell me it was insane that we all still liked each other by August, and even stranger that we stayed in touch for years afterwards. 

The summer itself was... I won't say life-changing. I was at an age where most big things were life-changing (as opposed to now?) and that summer was no exception. We worked hard, sometimes with slightly insane hours. Then, we packed as much fun into our off hours as we could manage -- we hit every tourist attractions that was even mildly interesting, went to every single play at the Black Hills Playhouse, and had so many late night hikes that I lost track inside two weeks.

Those three months would eventually lead to two more summers and a full-time job, but as that summer ended I had no idea. I left instead with an entirely new outlook as I headed into my third year at Mines.