Sci-Tech 2022 Session 2 Recap!!

This was my first summer here at Sci-Tech, and I had a ton of fun. I had a lot of fun in my workshop, Video Game Design, and I loved learning how to code. I also really enjoyed my chugim, especially Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. But my favorite part of camp was spending time in the dorm with friends. I am really excited to come back next summer.

My Sci-Tech experience is unlike anything else. The best way I can describe it is family. Sure, we blow stuff up. We build robots, decipher code, make movies and video games, and so so much more. At its heart, it’s family. Nowhere else would I be ride or die for these kids I’ve met less than 48 hours ago, but that’s what happened. Nowhere else would I think to call my counselors mom and dad, I apologize for that by the way, and calling my dorm home. No where else would I willingly come back year after year to next to no air conditioning. Nowhere else would feel like home the way it does here. This place, these people are so unique and special in every way. It’s impossible to come here and leave without learning something new and exciting. Everyone is so welcoming and accepting. There’s that instant feeling that you belong. That’s what sets this place apart. We’re all nerds. We’re Jewish. We’re different. And that’s what brings us together. When I leave tomorrow, there’s so much I’ll miss, except for the lack of air conditioning. But I’m going to miss waking up every morning to a happy, bustling hall and banging on tables after every meal. I’ll miss watching Adam Punns when I’m done with editing – subscribe by the way. And I’ll miss the random weather holds and Minecraft and teaming up with my hall against Ramon 4 on the craziest thing. I’ll miss Israeli dancing on Fridays, staying up until midnight with my roommate when we’re supposed to be asleep. I’m going to miss the counselors, campers, my friends, DA CAT and this wonderful place that I get to call home every summer Thank you, Sci-Tech. I’ll see you next year.

I have accomplished things here that I could never have accomplished anywhere else. I have met so many people here that I would never know without this camp. For example, my roommate, who just happens to have the same name as me, lives halfway across the country. I met him last year here, and we have been friends ever since. Even though this is my second year at camp, I have made friends and memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you to all the campers and counselors of Gertrude and my previous dorms for making my summer great.

Being at Sci-Tech means being excited. Being excited for doing new things in my chugim and my workshop. Being at Sci-Tech allows me to do so many new things that I wouldn’t be able to do at home. I will miss being able to try so many new things with people who are just as much of a beginner as I am or learning from people who have more experience than me. I will miss all the campers who I’ve met. I will miss all the staff who have taught me new things. Thank you, everyone, for making this such a memorable experience.

I was told to write about my memories at Sci-Tech, and boy, where do I start? This entire year has been chaotic. As 10th graders, we sort of had a mutual understanding that this was our last year, we wanted to have fun, and we did. From the chaos and everything else, this year has been different from every other one. We come in every single day with a new exciting and special thing that I could not believe. Even today, I had so much fun hanging out with all my friends and my fellow 10th graders that I forgot to write a speech, and I wrote it during TECHTalks. A couple of days ago, I started counting my lasts. My last meal, my last dinner, my last chug, my last workshop. Devon said something during Robotics that sort of made things change. He said, a couple of days after you leave camp, you’re not going to remember every single thing that you did, but you’re going to remember that feeling. And while looking back on Sci-Tech, while looking back at the four years that I’ve been here, the only feeling I can remember was joy and happiness in our commuity. Sci-Tech has been my home for at least four years, and as I move on to new chapters in my life, with Israel and Machon, I hope that everybody else here can have that home here.

My seventh summer at Byfield has been one I will cherish the most. After missing my 10th grade year with my fellow peers, we weren’t sure we would ever be able to leave our legacy at this camp. The following year, we went to Sci-Tech Israel, and then we came back to Byfield one year later than everyone else. These past four weeks, I formed incredible bonds with my co-counselors. I had the absolute privilege to experience camp in the lens of Ramon 4 for a session, and now in Baer 1. I’ve learned the skills of being a counselor, and I’ve loved making my campers smile. Our Machon group became a close knit community who could be found lying on the floor in the field house, playing Anomia late into the night, and randomly bursting into song. Thank you to Bethany who turned us from seeds to sprouts to watermelon. To Sci-Tech leadership, junior leadership, and staff, you inspire us and we look up to you each and every day. On behalf of all the Machon, the lessons you’ve taught us and the home you’ve given us is what keeps us coming back. And to our campers and to one another, the last few months is what made three years of not being in Byfield all worth it. Thank you to every single member of Sci-Tech for helping shape me and my peers into the incredible and curious unique people we are today.