MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- A farewell barbecue was held at the Station's Youth Center recently to bid farewell to the eight college interns that spent the last 11 weeks at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni as counselors for the Station's Camp Adventure summer camp.
The counselors came to Iwakuni for the summer from colleges all over America to participate in the program and enjoy the opportunity to take part in something unique and rewarding.
"This has been a great experience to travel and earn credits while working with the youth," said Elizabeth "Tinker Bell" Kiefer, a senior from Bradley University and Camp Adventure director.
According to Kiefer, she and seven other counselors had a great amount of responsibility trying to entertain anywhere between 50 and 60 children every weekday since the camp started.
"The funnest thing we did was going on field trips," said Camp Adventure participant Michael Timpa, 15. "We went to lots of fun places around Japan like Safari Land and New Zealand Village."
Taking the children on field trips was only one of the counselors' many responsibilities. Other activities they preformed with the children ranged from teaching and singing songs to arts and crafts, swimming, bowling, individual activities and large group activities.
"Camping out was the best thing we did," noted Camp Adventure participant Troy Vann, 9. "We got to watch a movie, and we almost had a food fight."
When the counselors and campers were not on field trips, they got a chance to spend time inside the Youth Center, playing video and computer games and listening to music.
While the campers were busy taking field trips and playing video games, parents were also able to have a little more time to themselves without having to worry about their children's safety.
"My daughter really enjoyed the counselors," said P.J. King, mother of a Camp Adventure participant. "The counselors were positive role models and disciplined the children in positive ways, such as making them write apology letters to each other."
The farewell barbecue let the campers spend some last minute time with their counselors, give them gifts, and sign each other's shirts. It seemed evident that the campers left with a summer full of wonderful memories and experiences, and the counselors left with all that plus 12 college credits and a little spice for their resumes.