For many children in Northwest Indiana, the opportunity to travel to our country’s Western states is rare. There is a lot to see in the area, from Chicago to the Dunes – but it is also one of the densest metropolitan regions in the world. Students can learn a lot by experiencing more of the world by seeing entirely different landscapes.
Big Shoulders Fund, an organization committed to helping children attain quality, values-based education, helped those students get that experience by organizing an annual trip to Brush Creek Ranch’s Staddle Camp in Wyoming. This year, St. Casimir Elementary in Hammond was one of the schools that jumped at the opportunity to make the journey.
“When we arrived, it was like something out of a movie,” said Matt Chico, Principal of St. Casimir Elementary. “It was beautiful, with fresh air - I think it was something for us to and our kids to think outside of the box and experience this time of being outdoors and connecting with other kids.”
In the months leading to the trip, participating students from Big Shoulders Fund schools take part in variety of science-focused academic sessions and team-building activities.
In an average year, almost 300 students from Northwest Indiana and Chicago make the trip to Brush Creek Ranch. According to Chico, the opportunity to disconnect was almost as important as seeing the prairies, mountains, and creeks.
“It provided our students an experience to get out of their comfort zone and a break from cell phones and social media and to take in the beauty of Wyoming,” Chico said. “It also challenged our students to be creative, independent, and engage in teamwork with students across Chicagoland and provide memories that will last them a lifetime.”
Chico and his colleague, Gloria Gomez, volunteered as chaperones for the trip – staying in constant contact with every student’s family. For most of them, it was their child’s first time away from home.
“I was impressed by the size of the ranch and the beautiful scenery, I’d not experienced anything like it prior to the trip,” said Ian Arnold, currently an 8th grade student at St. Casimir. “I learned about teamwork, being a leader, being outdoors, and enjoying nature.”
“The trip was a wonderful experience, and we are so very grateful for Big Shoulders Fund and Beth and Bruce White to provide the St. Casimir students with this opportunity,” Chico said. “We believe the students took away a learning experience that was outside of the classroom and provided them with new opportunities, and many of them did not want to leave.”
Hiking, horse riding, trips down the water, challenging rope obstacle courses – Brush Creek Ranch offers every student a unique, dynamic experience. For Arnold, however, the most special thing wasn’t a part of the programming.
“My takeaway is the people I met during my time at camp,” Arnold said. “I’d definitely do this again, and maybe one day be a camp leader.”
Many students do return to Brush Creek as Junior Counselors during high school, with some even moving on to work at the ranch before, during, and after college.
“Staddle Camp, while a tremendous experience in and of itself, can be just the beginning of many,” said Eliza Bryant, director of Academic Programs and Enrichment for Big Shoulders Fund. “Additionally, it has exposed some students to new collegiate opportunities that they might not have otherwise entertained, with two current camp alums attending University of Wyoming and one at Purdue Northwest.”
To learn more about Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana, visit bigshouldersfund.org
