Hello Camp Augusta! I’m Cooper, and for the past 18 years of my life, I’ve lived in some part of the San Francisco bay area. I currently attend the Nueva High School in San Mateo and in just over 3 months, (wow high school flew by) will settle into my new home at Middlebury College in Vermont. But before I do, I’m excited to get to spend a 7th magical summer with y’all at my surrogate home nestled in the woods. And before we do that, allow me to introduce myself with some pictures from the last year:

{{{Cooper’s Pictures were not in the Document but please use your imagination. They are all gorgeous depicting the greatest fun that can be had outdoors, indoors, and with vivid colours}}}

The first thing you’ll notice about me is that I love basketball. I played 4 years of Varsity at my high school, and while I intend play intramural in college, I’ll dearly miss the feeling of training and competing with as a team now that my season is over. I find watching basketball almost as fun as playing it, and am probably one of the biggest NBA fans you’ll meet. Even though I’m from the bay, I have a strong affinity for Philly sports due to my father’s upbringing there and will always root for the 76ers over the Warriors. The other less obvious but equally important competitive activity in my life is Debate. I competed on the Public Forum national circuit for 3 years in high school and have surprisingly found that I’ve become less argumentative as a result. Go figure.

The second thing that you’ll notice is my puppy Archie. He’s a 1.5 year-old French Cotton Terrier with boundless energy. Just like me, he loves to eat, and can often be found in places he’s not supposed to be attempting to get food. Also like me, Archie is not one to waste food, and will gladly eat that clump of eggs he found under the table. While I won’t go to those lengths, one of my most important functions is as a human vacuum cleaner, saving the day when friends’ eyes get too big for their stomach.

The last and most important thing that you’ll notice about me from these pictures is that I only own one hoodie, and I wear it all the time. I found it funny that coincidentally, every single photo of me acceptable to serve as my introduction to y’all had me in that one hoodie. (At least it wasn’t that ratty blue zip-up I wore all of last summer?) In some ways, my attachment to a single hoodie for a period of months is a microcosm of the way I experience comfort in routine. It feels safe and easy to wake up every morning and throw on the hoodie you placed on your desk chair the night before. and I’m grateful that my experience here helped me grow outside my conceptions of what I thought I was capable of or comfortable doing. To me, being present as campers step outside their comfort zones and experience personal growth is the most rewarding part of being a JC, and I look forward to helping people find some new metaphorical hoodies to try on.

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Menu