Camp ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ is the Collegeβs signature retreat created by, for, and about its talented alumnae.
By Emily Glory Peters
Every summer since 1994, the College has played host to one of its most beloved campus traditions: Camp ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄.Β Β as their gift to current and future alums, Camp ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ is an annual retreat that celebrates and shares the brilliance of the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ community.
βIt was started in recognition of our 25-year reunion. They wanted to do a poetry retreat, and thought holding it on campus would be so much fun, as weβd be able to stay in the dorms,β explains Ann Merrill Westaway β69, a longterm member of Campβs βCreative Caucusβ planning commitee and its sanctioned historian. The plan was to hire famous writers to come, she says, untilΒ Β asked the group a simple question: Why bring in presenters from the outside when there were so many talented women among ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ alumnae?
Nearly three decades later, Camp continues to embody our alumnaeβs most notable characteristic: an appetite for lifelong learning.
βCamp is for, by, and about alumnae,β says Emily Rankin β97, one of this yearβs tri-chairs along with Westaway and Devanie Candelaria DΓ³Γ±ez β94. With support from ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄β Office of Alumnae Engagment, she continues, every event in the program is planned and produced by a ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ alum, with rare exceptions. Campβs other Creative Caucus volunteers are responsible for marketing and building the agenda, fromΒ writing workshops to yoga lessons to themed costume parties.
This summerβs program is virtualβa consequence of the waning pandemic. Still, regardless of whatβs on the Camp docket, thereβs one rule everyone accepts.
βOur motto is βeverything possible, nothing required,ββ says Rankin. In a non-pandemic year, Camp differs from Reunion Weekend by welcoming Campers overnight, with some foregoing workshops to ramble through Claremont haunts recalling (and adding to) ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ memories. Also unlike Reunion Weekend, Camp draws alumnae from all class years who leave families and commitments at home for a few days of mental refreshment and a chance to learn something new from their peers.
βSome people may not identify with their class year, or maybe they werenβt residential for personal reasons. Thatβs whatβs so cool about Camp ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄βit appeals to everyone,β Rankin adds.
Whether as a workshop presenter or Camp attendee, participation is something both Westaway and Rankin encourage young alumnae to consider. A wider range of Campers, they explain, unearths hidden gemsβlike the addition of burlesque dancing instruction from one alumnaβand enlivens the entire Camp experience.
βWhat I look forward to the most is connecting with all the amazing, talented ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ women; not just those Iβve known, but meeting new people from different class years,β says Westaway. βThey create an infusion of happiness at Camp: a lot of laughter, a lot of contemplative wonderment.β
Campβs intrinsic ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ness is also reflected in how itβs supported. The retreat is priced to break evenβnot make a profitβwith alumnae-backed funds covering the cost of speakers, supplies, and even βCampershipsβ to help their peers attend. As Rankin observes, these are just a few ways Camp allows ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ alums to support one another.
βItβs not just alums giving back in the form of workshops or Camperships, but weβve also created scholarships, offered internships, extended opportunities to work with campus libraries, and more,β says Rankin. βItβs been fascinating over the years to figure out not just how Camp can support ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄, but how it can support Campers themselves.β
This climate of mutual uplift is something Westaway and Rankin continue to see even in the retreatβs temporary web format. And while some of Campβs traditions canβt be fully replicated online, its spirit persists.
βThe most sacred thing is the closing brunchβand weβve continued that virtually,β says Rankin. βHere people gather to share a word, a short sentiment, about their time at Camp. The words vary from βrenewalβ to βtea,β βfoodβ to βfriends,β but what our alumnae feel at the end is pretty powerful. The importance of sharing that canβt be minimized.β
Camp ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ is currently in session every weekend now through July 31, 2021. To view sessions and learn how to register, please click here.