My hurried, crooked, parking alignment, three feet from the curb confirms the rush of my excitement when I arrive to a Thanksgiving party last November hosted by old school friends and their parents. They were outside waiting for me to arrive with wide waves of welcome and a beautiful gift related to a forty-year-old inside joke born from an adolescent incident occurring one summer night when we were much younger.  

Although I will not share historical specifics of our youthful merriment, I can tell you we use the phrase: O Tannenbaum! to memorialize the joke as both salutation and touchstone in many of our current day communications, and at all of our special event interactions. I am fortunate in this world to rely on a steady anchor of an inside joke fitted many summers ago, grounded in friendship, high spirits, and remembrance.  

Last summer, after accepting an invitation from IEA to visit camp Yunasa West, I drove on gorgeous Colorado-in-July twisty creekside roads to tour campgrounds, hang out by the lake with Fellows, break bread with staff, and facilitate an art workshop with campers. 

Several of the remarkable experiences I had at camp include: circles of children and camp counselors and Fellows together in conversation, activity, or easeful silence; children seeking out Fellows to share progress on a project or a thought process; camp counselors welcoming me with an inheritance of being former campers themselves; dialogue with a young camp counselor who made excellent suggestions to help me best serve children in my art workshop; witnessing the simultaneous kindness, precision, and flexibility of Nicole and her IEA team in developing and supporting both the structure and flow of the camp day; being let in on a camp inside joke cryptically called Peach Juice!, which is where I wish to focus for the rest of my writing today. 

Although I do not have permission to share details of Peach Juice! with you, I can tell you it is a mighty, mighty inside camp joke, hatched during an ordinary moment, post Pandemic, from the same muse I suspect served me and my friends well in our O Tannenbaum! youth. Celebrity enough of an inside joke to have its own polished Peach Juice! board game, complete with a Michael Piechowski game character, unveiled this past summer by a bright and industrious camper. I hope the legacy of Peach Juice! has the fortitude and legs to thread through the Yunasa West community for the next forty years and beyond.  

Human happiness within the circumstances of time, space, memory, and shared experience is perhaps one of the best ways to find some meaning in this life. O Tannenbaum! has happened. Peach Juice! has happened. I was there. You were there. I hope everyone has something like Peach Juice! in their lives to hold and carry as a personal and community talisman and (also) amulet in bright times and in dark (as I write, IEA’s Pasadena and nearby areas are on fire). I also wish I could somehow see out ahead to witness these camp friends in adulthood, reuniting for a few birthdays and holidays, arriving and parking in crooked haste in order not to miss a minute together nor the toast to the well-being and bestowal of Peach Juice! 

Thank you, IEA and community of camp Yunasa West 2024, for the wonderful visit this past summer. Keep up your good and virtuous work. Stay safe and take good care. Until we meet again…Peach Juice! 

Catherine Zakoian is a licensed and national board certified counselor based in Boulder, CO. For close to 25 years she has specialized in counseling gifted, profoundly gifted, and twice exceptional (2e) children, adolescents, teens, adults, families, and organizations.

Learn more about her and her practice at: https://catherinezakoian.com/

Gifted kids spend a lot of time in their heads. They devote considerable energy to thinking, wondering, analyzing, drafting, problem-solving, inventing, calculating, composing, planning, investigating, comparing, contrasting, formulating, predicting…and so on. They have great practice living inside their heads and tend to naturally gravitate to these cognitive habits. Thus, gifted kids often view their minds as the central foundation of their identity. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but an identity based solely on intellect is an incomplete one. It is imbalanced and neglects the truth that gifted kids are also emotional creatures who long for connection with others and to a sense of purpose. To attain more balance, gifted kids need the opportunity to quiet their minds and devote time and space to exercise their hearts.

Yunasa offers just that. This week-long summer camp allows the opportunity, time, and space for gifted kids to practice getting out of their heads and to value other aspects of the self. In its mission to develop the whole child, Yunasa emphasizes five aspects of self: the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual. These five domains are cultivated throughout the week, helping campers broaden their sense of self beyond intellect and integrate all five domains into a unified identity. After my visit to Yunasa West this June, I can confidently attest that this is a place where gifted kids learn to love themselves and find a sense of belonging among a community of peers.

At Yunasa, I observed intentional cultivation of each of these five aspects of self:

• The physical self is developed through traditional camp activities such as ropes courses, rappelling, kayaking, archery, and more. Campers are encouraged to tune in to their physical body through daily yoga or Tai Chi.
• The intellectual domain is nurtured through discussion of what it means to be gifted, learning about overexcitabilities, and other topics campers choose during workshops. Campers share their passions with one another and engage in stimulating conversation with camp Fellows, who are experts in gifted development and education.
• The emotional life of a gifted kid is celebrated at Yunasa. Campers have daily practice with guided visualization, breathwork and other tools to listen to and regulate their intense emotions. Fellows and camp counselors are closely attuned and responsive to the emotional needs of campers. Campers are encouraged to share their feelings with others in a safe, nonjudgmental, and supportive environment.
• The social benefit of being in community with other gifted kids is a powerful element of Yunasa. For many gifted learners, it is challenging to find a peer group and they feel isolated as they move through childhood and adolescence. There is psychological safety in being able to freely express oneself, knowing Yunasa is a place where gifted kids are valued for their idiosyncrasies. Campers connect with like-minded peers as well as with counselors and Fellows who get them and support them.
• The spiritual traditions that are incorporated into the week help campers connect to the natural world around them and to a sense of purpose. Native rituals, yoga practice, labyrinth meditation, and the spectacular beauty of the outdoor surroundings are all pathways for campers to open their heart and spirit to something bigger than themselves.

When I was at Yunasa West, I saw that the kids brought their complete selves to camp and there they had a chance to let it all out.  From belting out Disney songs at the campfire variety show to tenderly supporting a crying friend, from boisterous team spirit during Yunasa Olympics to mentoring a younger camper through homesickness, and from energetic dancing at the camp social to a caring resolution of a painful misunderstanding, I witnessed a sense of comfort among Yunasa campers. I witnessed a deep level of acceptance for one another and for oneself. I witnessed a strong and connected community. Yunasa provided the opportunity for each aspect of self to be valued, supported and celebrated.

The thing is, whether or not we intentionally cultivate these five domains of self, gifted kids already are whole people (and always have been). But they may not know this about themselves. As they tend to live in their heads, they may be taken aback when an emotional meltdown shows up out of the blue or when interpersonal conflict explodes in their face with no apparent warning. Even when attending primarily to the intellectual self, the other four domains still operate beneath the surface, responding to internal states, external environments, and important relationships. Just as a smartphone app running in the background still saps memory and energy, the unattended domains of self are still present and influential. For example, a gifted kid may always have that intense emotionality running in the background (and may be exhausted by it!) even when emotions are not readily apparent. Yunasa helps campers become aware of all five domains of self, to appreciate each one, and how to care for them all.

Yunasa helps gifted kids get out of their heads. My time at camp showed me how powerfully meaningful Yunasa can be. I saw campers grow in self-love, appreciation for emotions, and ability to forge deep interpersonal connections. It was truly an honor to share this time with Yunasa campers, counselors, staff, and Fellows, and to witness campers finding balance within themselves.

Samantha Outcalt works as the staff Psychologist at Sycamore School, a Preschool-8th-grade independent school in Indianapolis with a mission for serving gifted learners. There she directs a social-emotional wellness program, offers individual and group counseling to students, and provides consultation to teachers and parents. She can be reached at outcalt.samantha@sycamoreschool.org.

Click here to learn more about Yunasa. Be the first to know the Yunasa 2020 dates by signing up for IEA’s E-Newsletter. 

IEA’s annual Yunasa camp concluded powerfully at Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan! Throughout the week, we watched all 79 campers – including 23 leadership campers – get to know themselves and each other in gentle yet profound ways. As ever, our leadership campers demonstrated incredible talents to connect with younger campers, support one another and be positive role models to all. All campers were empathetic, compassionate, sensitive and full of personality. It was an honor for the entire staff to watch the growth that transpired in each child.

Yunasa’s theme this year is passion. In a Fellow’s Workshop named Found Poetry, campers created a poem using reading materials focused on passion. It was a collaborative effort that culminated in a beautiful and powerful passage:

“This close relationship, it felt very natural,

An absolute thunderbolt merged with part of your being

My life had changed

Practice; how to play anew

Grand devotion, imported in my life

Such a devastating event, a slow burn, a sensitivity that resonates

Obsessively thought about

Devoted to this love story.

Fire, that’s me!”

In addition to Fellows Workshops, campers also spent time each day practicing psychosynthesis – a guided imagery meditation followed by in-depth discussion. Psychosynthesis helps one to focus, concentrate, be in tune with their senses, and be more aware of the present moment.

Yunasa also integrates specialized learning with traditional camp activities, so campers get a full experience of a weeklong sleep-away camp. Throughout the week, campers balance their day by participating in waterfront activities such as kayaking, sailing, tubing, fishing and riding in pontoons. Some land-based activities are also hugely popular such as archery, horseback riding, zip-lining and other rope courses.

Yunasa was a fun-filled week packed with exploration, friendships, growth and passion. Thank you to all campers, counselors, Fellows and staff for making it yet another amazing and memorable week. Have a great year ahead! We look forward to more summer fun in 2020!

Click here to view the entire Yunasa Michigan photo album. Sign up for e-newsletter to be the first to know when Yunasa 2020 dates and application information.

Dr. Gallagher at Yunasa West in Colorado

Shelagh Gallagher wears many hats – so many, in fact, that she has more great ideas than time to realize them. She is a Yunasa Fellow, an NAGC award-winning curriculum writer and consultant, a recruitment and program consultant for Diligence and Delight Learning Center in China,  an author, a professor, a conference keynote speaker and presenter, and mother to 20-year-old “light of my life” son Colin. A self-described “curriculum wonk,” Shelagh has naturally gravitated toward designing courses that “become an apprenticeship – not a place where you just learn facts.”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Shelagh Gallagher for her first-hand take on problem-based learning (PBL) curricula, her work with IEA and boccone dolche – her favorite pastry recipe.

How did you become interested in pursuing gifted education and pedagogy as a career field?

“I entered into my graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill thinking I would be a counseling psychologist for gifted and talented students – like Patti Gatto-Walden, another Yunasa Senior Fellow.” That all changed, however, when her studies and connections led her down a circuitous path of “exposure I’ve had to diverse people and perspectives on gifted education. It really had more to do with the programs and mentors I ended up working with.” Her first point of contact was June Maker, who focused on deep instruction and emphasized the importance of questioning and building lower-to-higher order thinking in lessons. Dr. Gallagher then spent time at Confratute with Sandra Kaplan, who focused on differentiated curriculum, and depth and complexity. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Gallagher took a position at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, whose mission of helping students become problem finders, rather than problem solvers, resonated with her daily during her three years there. She was then hired by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, during the early years of her development of the integrated curriculum model. “It was a winding path that led me to problem-based learning and ultimately investing so much of my career in it, but it’s a spot that makes sense to me. Now I balance my interest in the psychology of giftedness with curriculum, and really, the two blend perfectly.  One is the study of gifted students’ unique qualities, and the other is creating curriculum to help develop those qualities into a capacity for deeper insight into the world.”

Dr. Gallagher’s father, Dr. James J. Gallagher, was an international leader in both special education and gifted education. In the 1970s, James Gallagher was the chief architect in the development of the Individualized Education Program (I.E.P.) and created a national framework for early childhood special education. Throughout his career, and upon his death in 2014, James Gallagher was heralded as an early and influential leader in the field of gifted education, with contributions ranging from research to policy, and even his own curriculum unit on leadership.

What is it that particularly inspires you within the field of Gifted education?

Simply put, Dr. Gallagher loves good curriculum: “I love the idea of putting that in front of kids. High-quality curriculum,” she laments, “is something we need more of. There is still a lot of work to do to create a national infrastructure for gifted education and curriculum – particularly for minority and low-income students. Our work is far from finished.”

Beginning in 2015, Dr. Gallagher joined IEA’s public policy consortium. With the group, Dr. Gallagher supported the idea of IEA working with nationally-recognized polling firms to create a poll to determine America’s opinions regarding gifted education in the United States. IEA President Betsy Jones and Dr. Gallagher co-authored a report on the survey results titled America Agrees: Public Attitudes Towards Gifted Education. “The new policy initiative has been a very rewarding experience. It’s been a great opportunity to work with Betsy on the America Agrees report,” she said. Dr. Gallagher and IEA staff shared these findings at the annual National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Advocacy and Leadership conference in Washington D.C. this month, and both she and Betsy presented an extended analysis of the findings at the NAGC annual conference in Minneapolis in November 2018. To read the full report, click here.

Why did you decide to focus on PBL curriculum?

“I’ve always been a fan of Jerome Bruner and inquiry-based education. Howard Barrows’ PBL model was based directly on Bruner’s philosophy. The idea that it’s discovery-based, that it reveals to students the structure of the discipline, and that it focuses on leading students into significant content from an expert’s point of view has always excited me.”

When I ask Dr. Gallagher where she gets ideas for new PBL curriculum, she doesn’t skip a beat: “Fortunately – or not – the world is filled with problems. There is no end to the possibilities to create curriculum – often ripped from current or historic headlines.” All of her PBL curricula are fact-based and rooted in real-world application: “The world is my resource and I love how students can tackle actual problems to solve.” Anytime she needs inspiration, she considers what would make a child’s eyes open wider or what would “expand the vistas of their understanding of the world.”

Do you have any new curriculum on the horizon?

A hearty laugh breaks out. “Oh, I always have ideas percolating; however nothing official I can announce. I can tell you that I have 2-3 curricula that I’m dying to write. Hopefully, I’ll find time to tackle them soon.”

What do you love most about working with IEA and Yunasa?

“Yunasa is such a special place – and truly one of the highlights of my year. I love having contact with the kids, and I love the work we do with the kids to ground them and give them a sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence. I experience them having such a sense of opening during the week. I love the colleagues I work with while I’m there.”

Dr. Gallagher with (from left) Yunasa Fellows Dan Tichenor, Amy Gaessar, Patty Gatto-Walden, and Michael Piechowski

What are some fun facts you think people would be interested to know about you?

“I paid my way through graduate school as a professional pastry chef, first at a high-end Southern-style restaurant, then at a gourmet retail store.” (Here, I can’t help but picture Dr. Gallagher in another hat: a chef’s hat.) When I ask her what her favorite pastry to make was, she didn’t hesitate: “Boccone dolche, which is Italian for ‘sweet mouthful.’ It’s comprised of three layers of meringue, in between which are a layer of chocolate, a layer of whipped cream, and a layer of strawberries.” Gallagher also sings in her church choir, which feeds her need to keep music a part of her life.

Her son, Colin, spent seven summers as a Yunasa camper in Michigan, enabling her to witness the transformative power of Yunasa and its programming in her own child. In 2018, Colin served as a counselor at Yunasa West and Yunasa Michigan and will return in this role in 2019.

In Fall 2018, IEA’s Academy program introduced Shelagh Gallagher curriculum into its course offerings with Ferret it Out: A Problem about Endangered Species and Animal Ecosystems, a course that is also running this spring due to popular demand. This summer, Academy is offering three Shelagh Gallagher curriculum courses: Black Death, The Penguin Predicament: A Problem about Animal Habitat and Survival, and It’s Electrifying! An Exploration in Water-Based Alternative Energy.

For a full list of Summer Academy classes, please click here.

All of Dr. Gallagher’s curricula is available to preview and purchase online through Royal Fireworks Press.

On February 9, 2019, IEA celebrated its 20^th anniversary! The event took place at Annandale Golf Club with over 100 guests in attendance. Student volunteers played music, facilitated jeopardy and mingled with guests. One family even put on a photo booth for the event! It was truly a wonderful night filled with old and new community members celebrating 20 years of friendship and services for gifted youth.

The evening also honored several key players in IEA’s development as an organization: The Bradley Foundation and IEA Senior Fellows, Patricia Gatto-Walden, Stephanie Tolan and Michael Piechowski. The honorees flew in from all over the country for the occasion.

Student speakers, Nico and Alondra, shared about their experiences with IEA and the impact that the programs, teachers and support have had on their life.

After dinner, a there was a DJ, dancing, desert, more jeopardy and photos.

All in all the evening was a wonderful success. Thank you to all of those who helped support this event, including: Dennis Finnerman, Jill Hawkins & MHP Events, the sponsors and guests. We are so grateful for all of you!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Giant Sequoia

The Bradley Foundation
The Burke Family

Jeffrey Pine

Betsy Jones & Ted Mergenthaler
The McDonell Family
Teri and John Valentine

Live Oak

The Balbuena Family
Becky and Peter Knell
The Lee Family
Math Academy
Parents of Alexander Miller
Rodriguez, Horii, Choi & Cafferata, LLP
The Tracey Family

Media Sponsor

Pasadena Now

Like this post? Sign up for our email newsletter to receive more stories, information, and resources about gifted youth straight to your inbox.

IEA’s pioneering Yunasa summer camps unite highly able youngsters with experts in the social and emotional development of gifted children. Campers explore and grow the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical aspects of their lives.

In June, 39 campers from across the country came together for Yunasa West at Camp Shady Brook in Deckers, Colorado, for a week of intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual, and physical growth.

The week started off by introducing this year’s IEA program theme: The Common Good. As we talked about The Common Good, campers shared what the theme meant to them and how they thought it would be relevant to their camp experience. They described the Common Good as acting unselfishly, doing things for other people rather than yourself, and behaving in a way that promotes the health of the group, even if one’s own best interest is at stake. We proceeded to establish our rules as a group to prepare for the week as part of a community. Each camper exemplified The Common Good in their actions towards others at camp, respecting one another and making efforts to ascertain that everyone felt accepted.

One exciting highlight at Yunasa West this year involved a workshop on energy healing, which dealt with ways to heal the body using pressure points. The campers engaged in a group discussion with our guests, Dr. Sheila Abichandani and Dr. Arin Balbinder, and then partnered up to put what they learned into action.

Each year, IEA Senior Fellows and Yunasa Fellows lead a variety of workshops on topics of high interest to campers, and this year was no exception.

Senior Fellow Stephanie Tolan taught eight participants Reiki, the ability to help or speed healing by putting one’s hands on the person who is sick or in pain. Campers met in two workshops at the beginning of the week to learn this ancient tool to help others, and the participants actually received certification for their training!

Dan Tichenor, Yunasa Fellow, led a workshop in Mindful Walking through the Labyrinth, which was built by Yunasa West campers in 2013 and resurrected this year. Nature Art was another popular workshop with Dan where campers made cairns, or stacks of rocks, as a protection and landmark for the labyrinth.

Campers experimented with sending and receiving messages nonverbally to other campers and nature using their energy in a popular “Reaching” workshop led by Senior Fellow Dr. Patricia Gatto-Walden.

Senior Fellow Michael Piechowski led an Intensities workshop where campers discussed intensities and overexcitabilities and how they manifest themselves in the life of a gifted person. Campers broke into psychosynthesis groups to talk about their own personal experiences; after the workshop, many campers said they felt more understood, accepted, and authentic.

And of course, campers took part in traditional summer camp activities such as trail rides, ropes courses, and campfires!

Overall, the week was a fun, successful exploration of campers’ unique personalities and a time of growth for our amazing community.

Click on the button below for more photos from camp!

Do you know of a gifted youngster who would be interested in Yunasa or Yunasa West next year? Sign up for our email list to get details on Yunasa 2015 camps as they become available!

When I first began working with gifted kids in 1978, I had no idea that I’d still be doing so 36 years later. Those first gifted 4th-5th graders I taught in Stafford Springs, Connecticut are now closer to their retirements than their college graduations. That should make me feel old (OK…I am old!), but thanks to a decision I made more than 20 years ago, my vitality remains. That decision?: to never be more than a week away from teaching gifted kids.

My career trajectory led me from the elementary classroom to the college lecture hall, a much easier place to teach. There are no parent phone calls to return while teaching college, and discipline problems are minimal. Still, I found something lacking in teaching my graduate students. It wasn’t that they weren’t sincere in wishing to earn their degrees, it’s just that they were all so…predictable. And if there’s one thing I learned while teaching gifted kids, it was that predictability was not a quality that many of them possessed. “Quirky” (yes, that would fit), “spontaneous” (…maybe that’s why I could never get through my intended lesson without several student-led detours) and “intense” (couldn’t any of them, just once, practice the fine art of intellectual moderation?). The longer I worked with gifted kids and teens, the more I came to appreciate that the vigor they displayed while engaged in learning something new and relevant had an unexpected impact on me–their excitement became a non-prescription elixir that served as my personal fountain of youth. Thanks to gifted kids, I may look my age, yet I neither think nor act it. Thanks to gifted kids, I feel like Peter Pan.

If they’re lucky, parents of gifted kids retain this same degree of youth when they interact with their children. I mean how can you not giggle out loud when your 4-year-old daughter asks, “If butter melts yellow, and chocolate melts brown, why doesn’t snow melt white?” It’s a perfectly fine question, based on observational data your gifted kid picked up simply by being alert to the world. The answer to this question may evade you, but just the thought that someone so young has so much intellectual power and curiosity helps keep you mentally robust and alert. And how about when your 15-year-old son wants to engage you in an “oxymoron contest”, with some of his entries being “cafeteria food”, “authentic replicas”, “bigger half” and “Congressional wisdom”. Even if you can’t top these “instant classics” (another oxymoron), the banter between the two of you is bound to make you feel younger than your years.

Three and a half decades of gifted kids have introduced me to countless characters who have changed–indeed, enhanced–my life. I continue to cling to my youth today by doing part-time teaching of highly gifted 9th graders who are enrolled in college and by serving as a “Fellow” at IEA’s camp Yunasa every July, working with gifted 10-14 year olds at a YMCA camp in Michigan. Yeah, my soon-to-be-ancient bones ache when the alarm rings at 5:15 a.m. so I can get to school on time, and sleeping on a plastic-covered camp bed does little to enhance my burgeoning arthritis, yet underneath these physical discomforts remains one of the best feelings in the world: a continuing connection to gifted kids who keep my spirit alive and well.

Seek your own eternal youth: surround yourself with as many gifted kids as you can find.

About Jim Delisle:

Jim Delisle serves on the Board of Directors of IEA and interacts with gifted kids frequently. His upcoming book, Dumbing Down America: The War on Our Nation’s Most Capable Youth, will be published in August, 2014.

Like this post? Sign up for our email newsletter to receive more like it along with other resources for parents and educators of gifted kids!

IEA’s pioneering Yunasa summer camps unite highly able youngsters with experts in the social and emotional development of gifted children. Campers explore and grow the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical aspects of their lives.

“Know Thyself” was at the core of all of IEA’s programs this year, and particularly for Yunasa, as this theme tied into each activity throughout the week. Yunasa is the Lakota word for “balance”, and finding balance within as a means of gaining self-knowledge is the focus of camp. From July 21-28 at Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan, campers explored themselves more deeply and learned integration strategies for the five domains of self: social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual. For many returning campers, Yunasa is a place where they rejoin their family each year, building their existing connections and extending themselves to make new ones. What was most unique about camp this year was the number of new campers who were accepted into the Yunasa family with open arms.

Campers greeted each morning with “Call in the Directions,” a Native American tradition used to give gratitude for the gifts each of the cardinal directions brings each day. Other daily activities for all campers included psychosynthesis – or guided visualizations – and yoga, which taught campers to calm and focus their minds as a means of reaching deeper levels of awareness and self-understanding. During psychosynthesis, campers connected their social, emotional, and spiritual components and also had a chance to connect with their groups on a deeper level. During yoga, campers used their minds to focus on their physical and their spiritual self as well as to achieve balance.

Throughout the week, campers learned new things through workshops offered by our Fellows. Archetypes through Mask Making and Sacred Connections were new workshops this year. Campers developed a sense for the masks – or different identities – they wear in life. They tapped into their connections with nature and one another through Sacred Connections. Campers also came together to create a design and building plan for a Rube Goldberg project workshop. Other workshops included Line Dancing, Farther Reaches of the Human Mind, and the Eight Great Gripes of Gifted Children.

Campers also enjoyed the open space, beautiful lake, and Michigan greenery through daily camper options, which include challenging physical activities like Archery and Paddle Boarding as well as relaxing activities like spending time in Hammockville and Canoeing. Camp Copneconic believes in taking a “Challenge by Choice” approach, whereby our campers challenge themselves and set personal physical goals in activities like High Ropes, Climbing Tower, or Creek Freak (a zipline over a creek). Our counselors were also an integral part of helping Yunasa campers reach new heights and step out of their comfort zones through daily options.

What makes Yunasa unique is not just the variety and extent of challenging but constructive activities throughout the week, but also the dedicated people who participate in them. Camp Copneconic was truly a partner in helping us achieve our mission. Our counselors and staff were the supportive network our campers could rely upon. The esteemed faculty we call our Fellows shared their wisdom and guidance. But above all, the campers are what make this a once in a lifetime experience each year. Yunasa campers are the most creative, intelligent, quirky, wonderful, accepting, and caring group of kids anyone could ever know. As much as they learned what we had to teach them, they really taught and encouraged us.

Click on the button below for more photos from camp!

Like this post? Please share!

Every gifted person has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts depicting the many faces of gifted by highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through IEA programs. IEA’s pioneering Yunasa summer camp – mentioned in this story – unites highly able children and experts in the social and emotional development of gifted children and provides an opportunity for campers to explore and grow the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and physical aspects of their lives.

Matthew
Yunasa Camper

Matthew lives on the island of Java in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. He is 13 years old, is home schooled and has traveled to Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan, for the last two summers to attend Yunasa.

How did Matthew hear about Yunasa?
Matthew first learned about Yunasa through his mentor. “Mark Lediard has been my mentor for three years now, beginning from the age where I was withdrawn from formal schooling. He and I now meet regularly to discuss opportunities for my enrichment and intellectual expansion, including out-of-country learning and meetings with learned professionals. It was through Mark’s collaboration with a homeschooling curriculum adviser named Kathi Kearney that I learned of Yunasa, and I was quick to jump at the prospect.”

But why Yunasa?
“Indonesia, despite being diverse both culturally and biologically, does not have the inherent essence that Yunasa offers. Although the country does have camps, most are relatively generic when compared to Yunasa; mostly they fall within the categories of academic, ecological, or religious. It can be said that the reason for my participation was to experience these new spiritual aspects that no other camp could seem to offer.”

What has he gained from attending Yunasa?
“Words alone cannot describe the effects Yunasa have had on me; intellectually, socially, physically, and spiritually. I have met people with radically varying perspectives, others with opinions very akin to my own, and those still who have enhanced me and the way I see myself by their personalities and experiences. Here, I found an arena to discuss and debate the theories I hold so dear, and to marvel at the ambitions of others who were driven by that same desire to cultivate humanity.”

What does Matthew like about Yunasa?
“The experience of Yunasa was terrifically structured, and my greatest thanks go to the IEA staff for organizing and providing such a seamless daily schedule. The topics and contributions of the Senior Fellows were invaluable in expanding my intellectual and emotional repertoire and are inspiring to reflect on, especially when considering their many possibilities.”

What part of Yunasa has had the greatest effect on Matthew?
“Although I meditate in my daily life, the concept of psychosynthesis itself intrigued me, and I quickly found out why. In the process, I experienced undoubtedly profound visions of the unified continuum of time; often, I would leave the session pondering my beliefs and what it meant to be there. Frankly, I cannot wait to experience pychosynthesis again next year and see what I may experience.”

What similarities does he find between himself and the other campers?
“I find that in a myriad of ways, we share similar perspectives, interests, and ways of comprehending reality. I can say that I have never felt more assimilated into a community than Yunasa’s gestalt, especially when considering I have lived in a foreign society for all my life. In this way, Yunasa is a sanctuary, a home for me. Even before I arrived, I had an innate knowing of the events to come, as it is an undeniable fact that Yunasa has that powerful quality of making one feel completely and utterly at ease with his surroundings, his peers, and most importantly, his inner beliefs.”

Does Matthew keep in touch with other campers throughout the year?
“As a matter of fact, I regularly keep in touch with my closer friends via email and online sources. They inform me on a constant basis about their current activities and circumstances, and it has happened more than once that we have asked each other for aid on issues that cannot be resolved by only a single perspective. It is an honor to know and communicate with these individuals, and I consider them to be important in my development.”

What does he do in his free time, and where does he see himself in the future?
“Being in the cultural fusion that is Indonesia, I am exposed to a wide variety of people, perspectives, and religions on a daily basis, even within my own household. The most enjoyable pastime is observing how all of these fundamentally different groups cooperate and interact in a common environment, even though many share dividing opinions and views.”

He also enjoys reading and writing, “mainly due to the unbounded creativity that they grant me in shaping myself as an individual. I greatly appreciate the intellectual diversity I gain from books and that I can create with writing. I believe that the greatest gift that is bestowed upon the world is the written word, and the knowledge that stems thereof.”

Like many gifted children, Matthew draws connections between different intellectual and spiritual subjects to make more sense of the world and wants to contribute positively to the world around him. “From a young age, I have expressed an intuitive knowing in the existence of an unseen organizational structure above the chaos of reality, and with it, a pressing need to aid humanity in grasping the concept of realms far beyond their understanding. Over time, this ambition progressed to an interest in the fields of theoretical physics and the philosophy of consciousness, namely Ontology. For as long as this aspiration has stood, I have dedicated my life to the unification of science and spirituality, the empirical and abstract. My purpose, I believe, is to aid humankind in reading what Einstein once termed as ‘The Mind of God.’”

Do you or your children want to share your experiences of being gifted? Please leave us a comment below or email us at IEAgifted@educationaladvancement.org!

Like this post? Please share!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• X
• LinkedIn

IEA’s pioneering Yunasa and Yunasa West summer camps unite highly able youngsters and experts in the social and emotional development of gifted children. Campers explore and grow the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical aspects of their lives.

2012 saw another memorable year of Yunasa in Flint, Michigan. Campers arrived on Sunday, July 22, at Camp Copneconic with great anticipation for the week to come and left mid-morning on July 29 elated from a week of flourishing at camp. Yunasa is more than your average summer camp—it’s a week-long exploration of one’s intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical self. The week was a success on all levels, as campers took away valuable life lessons, deeper bonds with peers, and unforgettable memories.

A high ropes course, offered as one of the many camper options, tested campers’ physical and risk taking abilities.

Psychosynthesis sessions were led by our Fellows, experts in the growth and development of gifted youth, each morning. Campers practiced guided visualization and relaxation techniques. Many campers said that Psychosynthesis was their favorite part of the day.

The Emerging Leaders (ELs) hosted a camp-wide talent show, including a comedy routine, musical performances, and a choreographed dance.

One camp session was an ongoing Rube Goldberg project, where campers used various materials to construct a complex machine that, in the end, would perform a simple task. After much deliberation, campers opted to make a device that would put a hat on someone’s head.

The Counselors in Training (CITs) put on the annual Yunasa Olympics. Physically and mentally challenging, the events included in the Olympics vary from year to year. A game of Quidditch was the highlight this year!

Bubble making stations were set up outside the conference center and available throughout the entire week. Campers enjoyed the option during down-time in the midst of an eventful camp schedule.

During the week, campers become a part of the Yunasa family. Many campers describe Yunasa as a time of true friendship and togetherness.

Throughout the week, campers were encouraged by staff and their peers. Many campers felt “at home” and inspired to be their authentic selves. There were multiple unique opportunities for personal growth. With physical activities such as horseback riding, water sports, zip lining, and ropes courses, campers were challenged to develop confidence in their athletic abilities. With the support of the Fellows and IEA staff, they also grew emotionally with one another and in self-awareness. Campers called on their spiritual abilities to connect with the world around them through activities such as Spirit Journey and Call in the Directions. Intellectually, campers enjoyed sharing with one another in an environment of acceptance and mutual understanding. Our hope is for these campers to return home with cherished Yunasa memories to share and hold onto until we meet again next year.

Thank you to Nicholas Farrell for taking these photos at camp!

For more photos from Yunasa, click on the button below. Also, be sure to check out the article about Yunasa in The Flint Journal!

What was your child’s favorite part of Yunasa this year? Please share with us in the comment section below.

Like this post? Please share it!