Teen Writers Return to Camp as Teachers

Gabi Lang and Janela Harris (left to right in photo) may officially be called “Teen Assistants” for the Young Women’s Summer Camp, but both will assure you that they are a vital part of a team! For two weeks over the summer, they will be facilitating Young Women’s writing circles, creating teaching agendas, and building relationships with up to 30 girls and teens.

Gabi, daughter of Todd and Donna Lang of Walnut Hills, signed up for her first Young Women’s Summer Writing Camp in 2004 and just kept coming back. “This is more than a summer camp,” Gabi says. “It’s learning for life, not just a week of fun. Somehow I knew that, after my first YW’s camp experience.” Gabi graduated from Walnut Hills High School in June and will be attending Bennington College in VT, where she hopes to study art history and literature.

Janela also began coming to Writing Camp in 2004. “I was excited after the first day of camp,” says Janela. “I felt comfortable right away, and that kept me coming back.” Janela learned about YWWfaC while a student at The Waldorf School. She will be a senior at Walnut Hills High School in the Fall, and hopes to study psychology in college. “I’ll probably change my major, but I will always put into practice what I’ve learned here at YWWfaC.”

Both young women have graduated from the Young Women’s Feminist Leadership Academy, sponsored by Women Writing for (a) Change Foundation. Gabi, who was certified in 2007, explains, “I wanted to learn how to create the same kind of welcoming space I experienced at YWWfaC – not just keep it to myself. This training taught me how to create space for other girls to find their voices.”

Janela took the YWFLA training and graduated in 2008. “I wanted to know more about why this WWfaC process works so well. I wanted to make others feel the ease I felt.” To receive certification in the training, YWFLA students attend training sessions, create writing circles in school and community settings, and assist in summer camps, sampler classes and workshops.

They both agree that one of the best things about being a teacher in the Young Women’s programs is getting positive feedback from the participants. “When I hear these young girls reading their writing for the first time – that’s really rewarding,” says Gabi. Adds Janela, “There’s nothing to compare to watching young women find their voices.”