Publications

Nativity in the Northwoods

"The mission of Nativity Jesuit Middle School is to educate Latino youth for Christian leadership and service. As an integral component of the school, the mission of Camp Thunderhead is to advance the students toward the objective of the school. The camp strives for academic and moral growth and the promotion of school unity."

These are the words that introduce counselors who have the privilege to work at Camp Thunderhead to the mission of this unique extension of the school’s comprehensive program of Jesuit education. As a young Jesuit scholastic, I was invited to take a pause from study at the conclusion of the last academic year and go out to Camp Thunderhead as one of these privileged counselors. What ensued was a summer experience that I shall not soon forget.

The heart of Camp Thunderhead is the promotion of the Christian interaction of community life and individual moral development. Here at this place, in the midst of the often-tumultuous experience of adolescence, I encountered a group of 60 boys who were entering into an awareness of their own transition into young manhood. Left out in the normal environs in Milwaukee, these boys of Nativity Jesuit Middle School would experience many of the struggles in achieving a balance of integrity and selfawareness through casual interactions with their peers, often in places and through experiences that would leave them vulnerable to behaviors and suggestions contrary to the fostering of good character.

At a time when many middle-school age children are to be found playing video games or watching television after sleeping late most of their mornings, the campers at Thunderhead are in the midst of a routine of academic study, recreation, and community-building activities. The five weeks of camp, extending from the last days of June through the first week of August, incorporate morning classes (in mathematics, science and reading), athletic programs throughout the afternoon (including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, swimming, Frisbee, biking, running and volleyball), and evening camp activities (such as capture the flag, Wells Fargo, soccer tournaments, academic competitions, a pine wood derby, and camp olympics).

The camp is a bustle of activity, but the schedule still includes time for reflection, letter writing, and reading during the middle of the day, as well as a cabin meeting at the conclusion of the day that allows campers to develop a sense of camaraderie. As the capstone to these intense days, the campers are lead through an examen and prayer, then retire to their bunks reflecting on their expectations for the days to come.

Located outside of Mercer, Wis., Camp Thunderhead is situated amid beautiful pines, meandering trails, and placid Northwoods lakes. Though this summer was notably cold and wet, the campers and staff were still able to enjoy the remote beauty of this special camp that has been the home to Nativity’s summer program for over a decade and a half. The campers and I were able to encounter the richness of nature, including several run-ins with some pesky black bears that took a liking to the leftovers in the trash bins next to the mess hall.

The location of Camp Thunderhead also provided an opportunity to take the campers into the backwoods for a more rugged camping expedition, some of the students slept out in tents and away from the conveniences of indoor plumbing for the first time in their lives. Other adventures for the campers included weekend trips to Lake Superior or to a nearby waterpark, day-long bike rides, fishing, and a leadership program for the eighth graders. The experience of summer camp is something that I remember fondly from my own days as a Boy Scout back in Eastern Iowa. The wilderness evokes a deep appreciation for how grandiose and inspiring the world is. I always find something enjoyable in the experience of a break from the everyday routine of life that has the potential to become stultifying. But more than a simple jaunt into the woods or a couple of weeks working on merit badges to advance to the next rank, the experience of Camp Thunderhead is an opportunity to develop a deeper appreciation for working with peers, building up one another and developing strong moral character.

The staff comes from a variety of backgrounds, most are students or recent graduates of Jesuit schools, some are members of the faculty at Nativity, and a few even came up from Guadalajara, Mexico, to help facilitate the summer program. All of the staff is committed to exhibiting positive role modeling and getting to know the campers through personal investment and interaction. The campers in turn are eager to learn, energetic and aware of the need to maintain their integrity while learning to enter into the identity of the larger school community.

Thunderhead fosters an environment that is more conducive to allowing the Nativity boys to grow in leadership skills, selfexpression, and group interactions. Here they are challenged to be accepting of their peers, to avoid forming cliques that intentionally bar interactions. The campers are encouraged to enter into the experiences of their brethren, to show empathy and take on the challenge of viewing their own actions toward others from the perspective of the other. They learn to take on responsibilities, find healthy ways to express their attitudes and desires, and to recognize the needs of their fellow campers.

Camp Thunderhead is a great example of how a Jesuit education integrates life beyond the traditional classroom. Growing along with the campers, being apart from the safe environments we construct for ourselves, I was able to appreciate how a community learns to flourish as it is challenged to accept all its members. Away from home, away from the normal routines of school and work, here a new brand of family emerged and found that the call to holiness means being involved in each other’s lives, even at the frontier represented in the Northwoods.

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