What a first day! Camp officially came to life today as cars began pulling in, one after another, bringing campers, suitcases, pillows, and a lot of excitement with them. There were hugs, introductions, counselors helping everyone find their way, and lots of new names being exchanged.
Our first big activity was SigmaQuest! We started within the teams, where campers worked through a team bingo filled with questions and prompts meant to help them learn more about one another. It quickly turned into conversations about hobbies, favorite things, random talents, and all sorts of fun facts. Once everyone had gotten more comfortable with their own team, we opened things up with a camp-wide bingo. Suddenly, campers were walking around looking for people who fit different descriptions, introducing themselves to someone new, and talking to people they might not otherwise have met on the very first day.
Later in the evening, everyone came together for our Opening Ceremony. From there, we made our way to the field for our heart-welcoming talk. With candles lighting up the group, we spent some time talking about the community we are creating this week and one of the ideas at the heart of camp: Sigma isn’t defined by a building or a campus, but by the people who fill it.
After a day full of arrivals, introductions, activities, and more new faces than anyone could probably keep track of, there was only one proper way to end the night: milk and cookies! Campers got to sit together, snack, talk, and unwind before heading off for some much-needed rest.
Day 1 gave us our first glimpse of what this week can become, and we can’t wait to see where it goes from here.