Jam sessions, rainbow markers, and feelings check-ins kicked off my first week working at WAV’s youth summer camp this June. My name is Gigi Cox and I will graduate from Ohio State this Summer from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs with a BA in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy. I am also pursuing a nonprofit specialization, which led me to apply for the fellowship with the Columbus Foundation this Summer. I am very excited to have been paired with WAV this summer to learn more about working for a nonprofit and get to explore my creative side, and week one has had a lot of excitement already!

My role so far has been assisting with the summer camp activities for students, which fall under topics of social-emotional learning, self-efficacy and self-advocacy, songwriting, creative expression and fine arts, and invention and innovation. We have middle school and elementary school students, and as we get started we are splitting them up into different sites. I am excited to work more closely with the younger students as the month continues and see how they grow throughout the program. This week has required a lot of flexibility and problem-solving, and I am proud of how much the rest of the staff and myself have been able to make adjustments and give the kids a great experience. 

The camp is only through the month of June so I am looking forward to getting different experiences throughout the Summer. Right now I am doing a lot of work with hands-on programming, and I hope to get to look more behind the scenes and learn from each of the staff members at WAV as the Summer progresses. I am already feeling more comfortable at my site and I cannot wait to get more involved and learn so much more next week!