Céline was born and raised in Paris, France. Like her sister Emma, she grew up speaking English at home and French at school. After primary school, she was lucky to be able to go to Milwaukee on her own, in order to visit old family friends. While visiting, she found out about Camp Minikani and it turned out to be much more than just a ‘summer camp experience.’

The first time Celine sat foot at camp Minikani, she felt in love with the place. As a parent of a Camp Minikani camper, I remember filling out the registration forms and liking the part of what our expectations were as parents. I filled out the answered with great care every time, always adding more as the years went by : as we could see the growing positive effects on Céline. She would come back happy and more confident every time.

During the school year, Céline’s immediate environment consists of old buildings and a few trees in a city where pollution peaks are common. For the last eight summers, she has been able to breath clean air and enjoy the natural beauties of Camp Minikani and its surroundings.

Her school (like most Parisian schools) offered a maximum of two hours a week of Physical Education. Every summer at camp Minikani, she has been able to run, climb, swim … and so much more to her heart content; giving her space and the green that she so craves.

She realized over time that she wanted to become a counselor and she worked very hard to achieve that goal. As a camper, later as a LT, and now as a counselor, she has been constantly learning about herself and others and how to live and work with others. She has learned to be resilient and organized, to name a few qualities that will help her throughout life. The wonders of Camp Minikani can’t be summarized in one word but if we had to, we would choose: ‘Sharing.’

Feeling so at home with people and in a special place comes at cost.Céline invariably comes back to France at the end of the summer feeling homesick from having left Wisconsin and all the people she knows there. This summer will be no exception, but we will remind her that she has made friends that will be lifelong friends. As her American accent slowly fades over the winter months, as it invariably does, her love for Camp Minikani will remain unaltered and I am convinced that some campers, LT’s, and counselors with whom she worked with will not forget her and will be as happy as she, to see her next summer.