An eruption of noise at 1 p.m. on Monday, July 18 surely woke up guests at the Double Tree by Hilton at SeaWorld as it was day one of four of Camp Orlando. Students from across Florida were brought together through journalism and spirit to camp in hopes to have fun and learn.
The opening session opened with Camp Counselors, Tracy de la Feuilliez and Adam Livesay, speaking to everyone and introduced what to expect during camp and had guest speakers who spoke about taking inspiration from the pros and adapting it into campers personal work. The spirit flag was also introduced to the campers and created a competitive atmosphere between schools as everyone wants to be the school to win it. The opening session created a buzz of excitement within campers, the surge of energy traveling through the Majestic Ballroom.
The camp brought many learning opportunities to campers through core classes and breakout sessions; where campers chose and were taught by professionals and advisers. There are a variety of classes that campers could choose from like Yearbook 101, Advanced Photography, Newspaper and much more.
De la Feuilliez, believes the goal of Camp Orlando is to help the campers and their work in the upcoming school year and future.
“I hope they want to be exposed to new things and to just get motivated to do the best they can for the coming year,” de la Feuilliez said.
Many campers who have been here before described camp as a fun learning environment. Returning camper Stefany Moreira from Robinson High School described camp as a place of chance.
“I think it’s very beneficial for any journalism staff that comes here, you have the opportunity to talk to experts and really get that trial-and-error process,” Moreira said. “I think it’s just fun in general because it’s great staff bonding time.”
Some campers enjoyed camp so much they decided to return even after graduation, Camp Orlando alumni ‘The Black Shirts’ helped set up and kept camp rolling smoothly for its first day. Oviedo graduate, Eric Esquivel, has returned with the goal to help and witness the amazing diversity within the campers and the learning and inspiration that takes place.
“It’s really awesome to see how creative all these kids at camp Orlando really truly are,” Esquivel said. “It’s good to come and meet new people and network, because networking is a huge thing for journalism.”
Campers displayed the theme, ‘Good Vibes Only’, through hundreds of screams and shouts during the opening ceremony held Monday afternoon and the t-shirt contest later that night.
While there was a lot of learning going on, there’s also time for staff bonding and networking with other schools through a series of activities. Activities are different every year to avoid repetitiveness, but they are tailored to balance a fun, yet educational camp experience.
De la Feuilliez described Camp Orlando as a place to learn and make memories and hopes to continue to do so in the coming days and years.
“[Camp is] fun, informative, motivating and a time to remember,” de la Feuilliez said.
