Natalie

Natalie was always a very serious person. She kept everyone on track and wasn’t afraid to be disliked by a few campers to ultimately keep everyone happy and safe. She was energetic and super involved every day, even when she was exhausted at the end of a long week. She had lots childhood memories and experience at camp from her years as a camper. Despite the fact that her extra knowledge could have ranked her above the rest of us, she was super down to earth and helped us grow. She taught me my way around camp, since I’d never been a camper before. Of all the LITs, Natalie was possibly the most grown up. Even though she’s the same age as I am, she was the one that walked me down to the clinic when I was stung by a hornet, because I didn't know my way around camp yet. She knew where everything belonged in the kitchen, and she was tough and hard-working. On nights when we had to wash dishes after dinner, Natalie would take on the dirty jobs, wiping sauce off hundreds of plates, scraping gunk off of cooking pans, or spraying down dishes with scalding water before loading them into the washing machine. 

Along with being strong and assertive, she was very caring. Just because she was tough and knew how to assert herself around the campers didn’t mean she wasn’t attached to Camp Wapsie. She loved camp unconditionally and, after many years as a camper, was sad to leave after LIT knowing she might not make CIT. For all of us, LIT could be the last year we get to be part of the innocent fun that is Camp Wapsie. For Natalie, that hit harder than the rest of us because she’s been coming to camp so long. She was tearful when we all said goodbye. She was strong, patient, and a kind person.

Stay awesome, Natalie.

Claire

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