At a Skyland get-together in Florida, a 14-year-old camper named Emma gleefully shared a new achievement: she was the only high school freshman cast in her school musical.
“As a freshman!” She beamed with pride. “I attend an arts school, where everyone is super talented. Lots of freshmen auditioned, and I was so nervous since it was only the first week of high school, but I knew I could totally rock it if I put my mind to it and then it wouldn’t matter that I was the youngest cast member among mostly juniors and seniors.”
“I mean, if I can ride a horse—“ (Emma had avoided the riding ring at Skyland for years, until the previous summer.) “—I can do anything! And I had the best experience with the older cast.”
Skyland’s mission – to inspire girls to be curious, creative, confident and connected to each other, and to the world – guides our work to make sure that session after session, year after year, our campers leave us as more vibrant versions of themselves. And we believe that a big part of what brings out that confidence is that Skyland is only for girls.
Psychological research shows that girls in all-girls environments build a stronger sense of self than in co-ed environments. They are less self-conscious, more confident and more likely to take healthy risks – like trying new activities, building new skills, and making new friends.
Emma’s story is about the way campers encourage each other and find the confidence that they carry all year ‘round. She was never one to shy away from a challenge, but horses made her hesitate. She tried riding when she first arrived to Skyland at age 8, but never really enjoyed it.
“I’m not afraid of horses,” she told her cabin counselor at the beginning of the summer, “but it’s just not something I grew up doing, and now it seems too late to start.”
Before she could even finish her sentence one of her cabin mates, a bold 15-year-old riding team captain, jumped in. “First of all, you’re never too old to start. It’s not like the horses are going to ask for your birth certificate. Second, you just have to find the horse that you get along with the best. The counselors can totally help. Third, are you afraid that we’ll laugh at you? We would be screaming with joy for you if it wouldn’t spook the horses!”
The rest of Emma’s cabin mates nodded in enthusiastic agreement, and it became a collective cabin mission that this summer would be “the summer Emma rides.” For the next week, the cabin strategized about how to get the riding staff in on the effort and consulted with the head counselor about logistics.
When the big day arrived, the head riding counselor radioed to the other counselors to ask permission for Emma to arrive late to her next activity. “Riding to archery, I have camper Emma here who is about to ride a horse after many years out of the saddle. May she be excused?”
There was a long pause before the archery counselor replied. Emma’s cabin-mates huddled around the walkie-talkie, waiting, basically holding their breaths, for the reply.
“Archery to riding…” Static filled the radio waves as the archery counselor extended the pause, for dramatic effect. One camper squealed with nerves.
“…I fully support that decision.” The whole group erupted in cheers, which resounded all over camp through every counselor’s radio (and didn’t spook the horses).
After the event, Emma was met with high fives and curious questions from campers and staff alike. A small crowd gathered around her in the library as she shared about her experience with fizzy excitement. The Big House girls listened with bright eyes. Supper buzzed with an air of triumph.
It was a big day for Emma, who credits the feat to the support of her cabin mates. Being surrounded by encouraging girls helped her to overcome the insecurity that held her back from taking on that new challenge – and it gave her the courage to dance and sing on the big high school stage. Now a “seasoned stage veteran,” Emma’s confidence is in an inspiration to everyone on Skyland Hill.
Emma sits with Big House campers before watching fireworks on the 4th of July.
