Page 19 - Priorities #66- Winter 2017

“Respond promptly to mail, and don’t feel overwhelmed by how large the prospect of starting a camp is. Take it one piece at a time, and it’ll all be fine.”
proposed for the East Palo Alto library. Jack’s timing was perfect as the libraries were in the process of reconsidering their role in an increasingly digital world. Jack worked with the local library staff to launch two free three-day sessions in the summer of 2015, which were fully booked by local kids. He also worked with the staff to configure library computers so the kids could continue to program and develop their Minecraft mods after the camp concluded.
Looking back at how the camp got started, Jack has learned a tre- mendous amount. He learned about teaching, marketing, customer service, hiring, management and paying taxes! So what advice would he give to someone contemplating starting their own camp? “Start early!” Jack suggested. “Marketing is best done at the beginning of January and throughout the month. This is where most of the custom- ers are.” His advice also included, “Respond promptly to mail, and don’t feel overwhelmed by how large the prospect of starting a camp is. Take it one piece at a time, and it’ll all be fine.”
In the summer of 2016, Jack accepted a summer research position at UC Davis and turned the camp over to Billy. Billy promptly hired classmate Kenny Akers ’19 to help lead the camps. As Billy took the reins from Jack, he shared his outlook for the camp. “Our plans de- pend on future demand. As we have been widely successful with our program of teaching kids Java with Minecraft, we are interested in improving that particular program right now. In the future, if there is interest in either diving deeper into the aspects of Java or learning Java through another game, we will explore how to create a program around that interest.” Billy is also very interested in the satisfaction of the campers. “Despite any challenges or lack of experience in cod- ing beforehand, they were all able to succeed,” he said. “Every one of them came out of it smiling, with a new interest in coding and how it could affect the world around them.”
19
2
3 4
1. Camp counselors from left to right, Kenny Akers ‘19, Billy Youstra ‘19, and Bobby Youstra.
2. Jack Youstra ‘17 holds a lecture session during camp.
3. Bobby Youstra and Kenny Akers assist students in the fun
camp environment.
4. Campers get some one on one time with Billy, Bobby, and Kenny.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT