By Jim Vitale
Alyx is returning to staff for the 2025 summer camp season!! This will be his second year on staff.
Let’s get to know him a little better!
If you were to describe a stereotypical summer camp leader you might note things like extraversion, high energy, a loud voice, the ability to strum a guitar around a campfire, and a deep knowledge of camp songs and skits. You might not, however, think about things like a level head in tricky situations, a quiet dependability, a willingness to learn, and the emotional resilience necessary to endure through adversity. But if you ask our executive director Chad Hershberger which set of traits is more important, he’ll tell you it’s the latter. “Extraversion and energy are certainly good traits, but I rely on the dependable, resilient leaders for a successful summer camp,” he says.
When it comes to summer camp leaders, Alyx Taylor falls into the latter category. He may not be the loudest, most rambunctious, or exuberant member of our team, but he is reliable, honest, authentic, and committed.
Last year, Alyx was our only first-time summer staff leader this year, but he is far from inexperienced. Alyx first started coming to camp about 10 years ago, toward the end of elementary school. He started with a couple of off-season programs that brought kids to camp for a day or two, GROW in the Snow (a confirmation aged retreat) and BYG (Building Youth Groups, a sort of pre-youth-group designed to acclimate 4th to 6th graders to 7th to 12th grade youth groups). He enjoyed those tastes of camp so much that he started coming as a camper. Alyx then spent the past three summers as a SALT camper, learning how to be an effective cabin leader. His excitement about camp only grew until this year, when he applied and was accepted onto our summer team.
From the beginning Alyx owned his inexperience (though he’s spent a lot of time at camp) and committed to keeping an open mind focused on learning and growing. “Staff training has helped me to accept some things about myself that were hard to accept,” he says, noting the intense growing experience that often comes during staff training. And there is no doubt that, in the first four weeks of camp he’s continued to grow by leaps and bounds, gaining confidence, learning from experiences, and jumping willingly into new situations. “I have seen Alyx make great strides in skill and confidence in a remarkably short period of time,” Chad remarks.
If you ask Alyx why he is so committed to camp, he’ll probably tell you it’s because of the community. While staff training can be a challenging experience, Alyx also notes, “I have had some of the most fun [with the other staff during training] that I’ve ever had.” Camp is important to Alyx because it provides him a community and a sense of belonging. The intense experience of serving on a summer staff can create a tight-knit, mutually supportive, compassionate community like none other.
It’s clear that Alyx is committed to becoming the best leader he can be for this special community here at Camp Mount Luther. And it’s also clear that Alyx is committed to crafting and sharing that close community with the youth who come to camp. He enjoys watching campers disconnect from daily life and reconnect with God, creation, and each other. And we enjoy watching him grow in his leadership!