Alumni

Click here to visit our Facebook page!

Welcome to the homepage of the Camp Kesem Alumni Association! The Alumni Association serves the greater Camp Kesem community by connecting and coordinating the efforts of former leaders across the country. Through updates, newsletters, and collaborative projects, the Camp Kesem Alumni Association supports and strengthens the efforts of student leaders at universities nationwide.

Mission

The Camp Kesem Alumni Association is dedicated to ensuring that our alumni can have a meaningful, lifelong relationship with Camp Kesem that enables them to connect with other alumni, develop and mentor the next generation of Camp Kesem leaders, support our Camp Kesem families, and help spread the Camp Kesem mission to the world around them.

Registering for the Alumni Association

Join the Camp Kesem Alumni Association (CKAA) – a powerful way to stay involved with Camp Kesem after graduation: Keep connected with other CK Alumni and help Camp Kesem grow!

Membership benefits are FREE your first year after graduation: CKAA quarterly newsletter, invitations to Kesem Kasual alumni events, and networking with other CKAA members. While membership is free, we welcome any donations you may be able to make.  All donations will be used toward building the capacity of the Alumni Association and our student leadership programs.

Be sure to provide contact information that is valid after graduation – ex: permanent email vs school email address.

Alumni Association Registration Form 

2012-2013 CKAA Committee Volunteers needed

Are you interested in taking a leadership role in the Camp Kesem Alumni Association?   Do you have innovative ideas for the CKAA and  miss Camp Kesem?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, you may want to consider applying to be a CKAA Committee Volunteer.  Volunteer position descriptions are available on the application form.

CKAA Committee Volunteer Application

Applications are now being accepted for CKAA Committee Volunteer positions, the deadline to apply is July 1, 2012.

Contact CKAA – We Want Your Input!

If you would like to suggest or volunteer for a project, please send us an email with your thoughts! We are especially appreciative of input at this early stage, as you will be able to play a key role in shaping the Alumni Association. You can contact us at:  alumniassociation@campkesem.org

CKAA Newsletter Articles – Winter 2012!

Three Things I Learned from Shaving my Head

Last year, Morgan “Captain” Siem shaved her head for cancer.  Now, one year later, she tells us what she’s learned.

1. I met a whole new side of people I’d known for years. I realized I’d underestimated my community. I was so moved by how many ways the people in my life were willing to give. People donated more than just money; they donated their creative talent, their spirit, their time and their personal stories. The lesson I learned: by doing something great, my actions called forth greatness in others around me.
2. Before the event, I was afraid that being bald was going to change the way people see me and look at me. After the fact, I realize the extent to which it totally did change the way people see me – for the better. People see past what I look like, and see what I’m all about.  I had to learn to recognize myself as a leader and someone who can really make a difference in the world. People around me started relating to me that way, but it took me a while to recognize it in myself.
3. It has given me a great sense of solidarity with people going through chemo treatment. Friends and strangers alike have opened up to me to tell me their personal stories about cancer.

Interview with “Magic Maker” John “Thrilla” Herrel

This newsletter’s “Magic Maker” is John “Thrilla” Herrel from CKIU for his for his epic portrayals at camp including Little Sally Walker, in which Thrilla very gallantly walked down the street.

Upon winning the award, Yoshi from the CKAA was able to catch up with Thrilla and ask him a few questions.

Thrilla: I would like to start by thanking the 2010 CKIU Orange unit for making this all possible.  I want to thank Squeezebox for his ridiculous outfits and energy at camp, not to mention his “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” interpretive dance music video. I’d like to also thank Yoshi for his production of said video. Yoshi is a great producer, all credit goes to him (Music starts playing…). Last but not least, I have to thank Rocket. Sometimes, as evidenced by the 2010- 2011 Miami Heat, blending three superstars together in a unit is does not produce the best team, but Rocket was able to put on a Phil Jackson “the Zen Master” - like performance to create a masterpiece that should be displayed in La Louvre.

Yoshi: With award show season in full effect, that is quite possibly the greatest opening to a newsletter article.

Thrilla: It can only go downhill from here.

Yoshi: With college, and your camp career now over, how do keep the magic alive in your everyday life?

Thrilla: As a public accountant and licensed CPA in the great state of Indiana, that is not hard at all. Every day that I crunch numbers, I think to myself, “Thrilla, here is the deal. I am the best there is. I wake up in the morning and..” but I digress. I recently moved to Colorado, away from my CK family and was unable to go to camp last year. I saw pictures posted of the camp and realized I was not able to give that up. Camp made such a difference in my life, I wanted to give back and continue to donate my time to this great organization by joining the Camp Kesem Alumni Association.

Yoshi: Tell me a little about CKAA.

Thrilla: CKAA is a great to stay involved with Kesem. Through these newsletters, the Alumni Rep Program, and other programs like Adopt-a- Counselor, you do not have to give up the camp experience

Shameless plug, tell your friends about CKAA and like us on facebook.

Yoshi: What does it mean to have won this prestigious award?

Thrilla: Well, this is just the beginning. I not only plan on continuing to make magic, I plan to make an Adele-like performance on various awards. I already know that I will be voted the greatest special guest of CKIU camp this summer.

Yoshi: Any final thoughts?

Thrilla: I want to thank each and every one of you reading this newsletter, for sticking through this interview and reading the whole thing, but more importantly for being Magic Makers yourselves. I joined Kesem with no experience with cancer. This past New Year’s Eve changed that when I found out my father got news no one wants to hear. Kesem was an incredible experience in college and still to this day remains a large part of my life. This news only strengthened my bond to this organization. I have made great friends from Kesem and I am glad to be able to stay involved.