ESU Backup Insider

Photo: Grace Martini, a senior majoring in special education at East Stroudsburg University, poses with young adults with intellectual disabilities at Adam’s Camp in Colorado. Martini worked at the camp this summer.

Grace Martini, a senior majoring in special education from Monroe Township, New Jersey, spent part of her summer working at Adam’s Camp in Colorado with young adults with intellectual disabilities. During her time there, Martini worked with a group of 10 boys, ages 14 to 18, in her cabin, the Timberwolves. The group participated in camp activities while learning social and life skills.

Adam’s Camp is a non-profit camp for children and adults with mild to moderate developmental disabilities. The camp, which has three locations in the U.S., was founded in 1986 with the goal of supporting individuals with disabilities and their families by helping children and adults gain life skills and the confidence to be independent.

The camp was a five week session, but as a new hire, Martini worked for one week. During that week, she took campers hiking, rafting, rock climbing, and other wilderness activities. The campers also learned life skills, like money management and teamwork. Campers were encouraged to get out of their comfort zones and build friendships with other campers. “I had this one boy and he had been reluctant to do things, especially the zipline. I went up with him to the top, and I don’t know how but I got him to go down the zipline. It was the most amazing thing to see him take on his challenges and accomplish that,” said Martini.

At the end of her summer, Grace returned to ESU for her senior year. She is majoring in secondary special education with a concentration in English, and has a minor in studio art. “Grace takes her learning very seriously, which means that her intellectual contributions to the course are seen and felt by her classmates and me. Something that I most appreciate about Grace as a learner is that she tends to ask more questions than give answers,” said Stephanie McCall, Ed.D., assistant professor of professional and secondary education and one of Martini’s academic advisors.

When she’s not in the classroom, Martini is a member of the ESU field hockey team. She is also a note taker for the Office of Accessible Services Individualized for Students (OASIS) and a volunteer for the Special Olympics and Swim and Gym, a program for community members with disabilities to have access to the pool and gym facilities.

After graduating, Martini hopes to work in a high school classroom teaching children with disabilities. Her long-term goal is to incorporate the adventure education skills she learned working at Adam’s Camp into the classroom. The camp utilized the idea of adventure or experiential education, combining education with outdoor activities to teach students problem-solving skills. “I like the idea of adventure education because I don’t necessarily know if I want to be indoors in a classroom every single day. This provides an outlet for something different, and I love being outside so that’s always a plus,” said Martini.

As far as next summer goes, Martini has every intention of returning to Adam’s Camp. “I’m going to apply again next year. Those young adults made a huge difference, and it was a very eye-opening experience to know that I’m in the right major.