Students make a positive impact at Camp Civitan
Read three NAU College of Nursing student’s experiences with Camp Civitan, an organization that offers learning activities for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Your name and what program you are in
Kassidy Brackett, CBSN Flagstaff Mountain Campus
Devon Fernandez, CBSN Flagstaff Mountain Campus
Hannah Finkel, CBSN Flagstaff Mountain Campus
Your year
Kassidy: Senior year, 4th-semester nursing student.
Devon: 4th-semester nursing student.
Hannah: This is my 3rd year at NAU; however, I will be graduating in December with my cohort.
Why you wanted to be a nurse
Kassidy: I’ve always had a passion for helping people around me. I enjoy guiding people in times of vulnerability and helping them see the positive in times that are full of negativity. Throughout my childhood, I was brought toward people hurting and did my best to bring up their spirits.
Devon: I wanted to be a nurse so I can help heal others when they are ill. I have done a lot of volunteer work in the past; it is so rewarding and fulfilling. So, I wanted to continue fulfilling work within my career. I was also inspired by my aunt, who has been a nurse my whole life. She is so compassionate and kind to those around her and offers her help and support.
Hannah: I have always wanted to be a nurse, quite literally, for as long as I can remember. My mom is a nurse, and I always remember her coming home from shifts at the hospital and telling various stories about patients and families. I knew that I wanted to be able to have that same impact on people’s lives during their hardest days. Later on, I had some of my own health challenges, and the nurses were the ones who really took care of me and made that difference in my experience, which just further solidified my desire to pursue this career. I look forward to working in a pediatric/neonatal ICU setting in the future.
What Camp Civitan is
Kassidy: Camp Civitan is an organization that offers activities full of learning for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Devon: Camp Civitan is a sleep-away camp in Williams, AZ, that is open all summer and is visited by children and special needs adults. They also have weekend camps throughout the rest of the year. Their campus is wheelchair accessible, and they have many activities like basketball, mini-golf, frisbee golf, and a craft room.
Hannah: Camp Civitan is a summer and weekend camp for people with disabilities. It is a large, wheelchair-accessible facility that offers a variety of sports and activities. One of their activities is visiting the Mighty Goat Health Education Center, which is where we have been volunteering.
What was your role at the Camp?
Kassidy: My role at the Mighty Goat Education program with the campers of Civitan was to “teach” the campers how health and animals can be interconnected. Animals and humans can share relatively the same aspects of nutrition, exercise, and friendships. During our time with the campers, we shared the importance of nutrition, such as fibers and carbohydrates, how their “poop” helps our environments, and how our two donkeys are bonded, which is essentially a best friend.
Devon: As a nursing student, I work with Mighty Goat Health Education Center to provide education about health, hygiene, and well-being to campers. We are able to teach campers through relating our lives to the goats’ and donkeys’ lives. This allows people to connect with the animals and learn about ways we can stay healthy through hygiene and how to set boundaries within relationships.
Hannah: At Mighty Goat, we talk to campers and teach them about positive health and hygiene habits through the animals. For example, the two donkeys at Mighty Goat are a bonded pair, so we talk to the campers about friendships and caring for one another.
What did you learn through participating at the Camp?
Kassidy: I learned that individuals with developmental disabilities are interested in learning about health facts by using animals to demonstrate. Many of the campers continued the conversation about how our health and animal health are related. I had great conversations with some of the campers about where they’re from and what they like to do best in their free time.
Devon: While participating and teaching campers, I learned how to interact and care for people with varying physical and intellectual abilities.
Hannah: I learned so much watching all of these people interact with each other and their environment in different ways. Everyone was so excited to be there, and many of them were a little bit timid with the animals at first but quickly warmed up. They loved learning the animals’ names and about each of their personalities.
Best memory of participating in this opportunity with Camp Civitan
Kassidy: My best memory from this opportunity was seeing how happy the campers were when they got to feed the animals treats.
Devon: My favorite memory from participating was teaching campers how to feed the animals and seeing their excitement once the animals would take the food.
Hannah: One of my favorite memories was with one of the campers who brought a big straw hat with him on purpose and then waited for the goats to come over and take bites of it. Every time a goat would come try to eat, he and all of his friends would laugh hysterically.