'We're PALS people now'

There’s a group of students on campus suffering from a severe case of FOMP – Fear of Missing PALS. But thanks to social media, cell phones and lots of photos, they’re staying well connected with their new friends.

In this case, PALS refers to Camp PALS, an immersive experience for young adults with Down syndrome and their peers to have fun, grow as individuals and build transformative friendships. 

Raylene Hammond, Kathleen Brady and Kennedy Conney traveled to San Francisco in August, and Taylor Wietrzykowski and Abe Patterson headed to Cleveland a month earlier to participate in Camp PALS as counselors. Grad student Mo Stohlman returned to Camp PALS for the fourth year as a counselor/director at the San Francisco camp. 

“I found Camp PALS my senior year at a job fair and signed up blindly. I fell in love with it the first year and I’ve been going back ever since,” Mo said. “It’s super empowering for all of us. The campers get to be independent and do a lot of new things they never expected. Everyone’s there to love and support each other, and that’s the way the world should be.”

Camp PALS pairs a counselor with a camper one on one. The pairs are together 24/7, never more than an arm’s length away from one another. They live in dorms and go on fun excursions together. But most importantly, they bond as friends.

“I was super excited to go, but I was really nervous,” said Raylene. “I didn’t know how it was going to go, but honestly, I had the best week of my life. I came out of it such a better person.”

Admittedly a quieter person, Kathleen said the camp experience helped “break me out of my shell.”

“It was so uplifting and such a positive experience. It shows you that you can find something positive out of anything you face.”

That was the prevailing attitude from all of the ‘Berg students who participated in Camp PALS. Thanks to social media and cell phones, they’ve stayed in close contact with their campers since their experience ended. 

For Taylor, who plans a career working with people with disabilities, the Camp PALS experience solidified her goals and affirmed an important life lesson. “Everyone is so different but so alike,” she said. “We all bring something different to the table. At the end of the day, we’re all human.”

In the end, all of the counselors “become advocates for people with Down syndrome,” Mo said. “You see that an extra chromosome does not define them.”

Through the weeklong experience that included excursions such as PALSchella (a takeoff of the popular Coachella music festival), PALS Got Talent, Shark Tank, a day at the beach, a SF Bay cruise and water park, among others, the ‘Berg students were the ones who returned home transformed. There are many shared photos and lots of texts to keep them connected to their PALS pals. 

Camp PALS just completed its 15th summer season. Part of the experience is the Congratulations Project, in which adults with Down syndrome write letters to new and expecting parents of a child with a Down syndrome diagnosis as a way to encourage, welcome and congratulate them. The camp PALS counselors took the congratulations letter a step further, writing their own letters to the campers or their parents.

“The whole experience just changed my perspective,” Raylene said. “I can’t stop talking about it.”

“We’re PALS people now,” Mo added.