Every summer, a group of local children head to a lakeside camp in Santa Barbara County for a week of bonding and fun. But unlike most summer camps, this one is run by the Cal Poly chapter of Kesem, a college-based nationwide organization designed to support kids whose parents or guardians have been impacted by cancer. 
 
The no-cost summer camp, which is the chapter’s flagship event, gives these children an opportunity to build a supportive community around a shared experience while also having fun.  

“When you’re a child dealing with a parent’s cancer, it’s so hard and you have to grow up so fast,” said nutrition major and Kesem Cal Poly co-director Christine “Sunny” Au. “It’s vital to give them a support system, to lift them up, and just allow these kids to be kids.” 
 
Part of the summer camp’s program includes “Empowerment,” a special time during which campers can share what brought them there and connect over a shared experience. But much of the rest of each camp revolves around activities that would be familiar to any summer camper: outdoor games, arts and crafts, water activities and campfire singalongs. 
 
Architectural engineering major and Kesem Cal Poly co-director Jillian Codron was a Kesem camper herself as a kid. Codron, who lost her father to pancreatic cancer at 9 and attended the UCLA chapter’s camp, said that having the Kesem community there to support her was really special.  
 
“Just having someone to lean on and know that they understood what was happening with me was a big part of it,” Codron said. 

After experiencing that support, she knew from a young age that she wanted to stay involved with the group when she got older. “Once I got to Cal Poly, I went to our first general meeting and I was hooked,” she said.

 
Even though Au was young when both her parents became ill, she didn’t hear about Camp Kesem until she was much older and didn’t get the chance to go — but she knew she wanted to get involved as soon as she could. The Kesem chapter at Cal Poly was a big factor in her decision to choose Cal Poly for college. 
 
“Having people who have gone through what I’ve gone through is so powerful,” she said. “It’s a special feeling that lasts the whole year, not just when we’re at camp. That’s why I’ve stayed and continued to pour my time into this organization.” 
 
Each counselor is assigned to work with a different age group of campers. Au has worked primarily with younger kids, while Codron worked with teens before taking on a more supervisory role. Like all Kesem campers and counselors, Au and Codron also use nicknames during camp week — theirs are “Sunny” and “Jellybean,” respectively — as part of a tradition designed to encourage creativity and playful interactions while preserving some anonymity between counselors and campers. 
 
While the camp is the highlight of the year for the group, they also provide year-round support to the kids and their families at no cost, including meetups where kids and their families can connect with other campers and counselors, Zoom sessions with counselors and care packages. The counselors also host an annual gala to raise funds for the annual summer camp. 
 
“Some of the campers spend time together outside of camp throughout the year, and it's just so cool to see that they have each other and they support each other outside of our camp,” Au said. “One of the main goals is that we want them to build a community and friendship with each other so that they can continue to support each other after our time with them ends.” 
 
“Something that I've noticed over the years is just how fulfilling it is to see them grow and evolve as humans as they return year after year — we saw a ton of growth in a lot of our older campers this year,” Codron said. “It's so awesome to see them grow up and grow out of their shell a little bit. Seeing them all grow up into amazing people is just so cool.”

Top image: From left, Cal Poly students Gabby "Matcha" Gathman, Ethan "Buddy" Coover, Jamie "Strawberry" DeNeve, Natalie "Legume" Porter, Christine "Sunny" Au and Alaska "Moose" Jebens pose with "Bubbles," a young camper (center), on the last full day of this year's summer camp. Photo courtesy of the Kesem Cal Poly.

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