Senior Lizzie Arrington remembers “sitting in corners a lot” when she reflects on her own experience as a sixth grade camper at Kern.

  But this year she got the chance to relive her Camp Kern experience, and this time, she didn’t miss a beat. Left with only battered memories of failed attempts to scale the rock wall, being left out of camp songs, and being a hoe down wallflower six years ago, Arrington arrived at Kern hoping to heal adolescent wounds.

      “Well, it was horrible” Arrington explains.  She remembers her own sixth-grade experience, “I had no friends.”

     Arrington doesn’t have the fond memories Camp Kern holds for many students. But Lizzie has managed and learned from it

     “They tried to force me on the rock wall, and I cried and hid behind a tree. But this year, I just told them no.”

     As she prepared for Camp Kern a second time, Lizzie had high hopes. She knew it would be different this time.

     “I was very excited, I had friends this time! And I knew they couldn’t force me to do anything!”

     Indeed, no one was in a hurry to force Lizzie into any embarrassing situations. Lizzie’s traumatic stories were nothing short of hilarious to classmates, but, all jokes aside, everyone was prepared to give Lizzie the camp memories she deserved.

     “Mrs. Munich told me she was making sure I loved it this time, when it was time for pioneer cooking she made sure I got to go.”

     Arrington was the “big woman” on Kern’s campus this year, decked out in matching bandanas and sunglasses with fellow Cabin leaders Emily Taylor and Brooke Parker. Singing camp songs on the arrival bus, she was preparing the sixth grade girls for an experience of a lifetime. Lizzie’s cabin, Cabin 12, was decorated within ten minutes of arrival and she had her campers ready to rock.

     Going back to Camp Kern wasn’t just for selfish purposes though; Arrington was tuned into the problems that her campers could faced. While some seniors woke up looking drowsy and worn out, Arrington was on the ball ready to lead the fun.

     “I kept telling them it was ok, and they didn’t have to do anything they didn’t want to.  When I was a camper, I thought the high school counselors would like beat me up if I didn’t do things when I was little”

     Lizzie exceeded the expectations when it came to helping the sixth graders have a good time, but nothing is ever perfect…

    “I mean, I don’t like nature and I got bug bites and they’re swollen, and the kids snored…”

     Despite the pesky injuries (itchy skin, etc) and sleep deprivation, it seems as though Lizzie got a second chance and came out a star.