Princeton High School to host a fair of teen opportunities.
By: Dennis O’Neill
Dorothy Mullen of Princeton recalls the first summer her youngest son Max, a 17-year-old Princeton High School junior fell in love with water at Bay Head on the Jersey Shore.
"He was 4 years old and had this assumption he could go anywhere and do anything," Ms. Mullen said. "He decided that water was as good a destination as any other, so we simply played lifeguard our whole vacation."
Since then, Max’s swimming ability has caught up to his adventurous spirit. Last January, when he and his mother began searching for summer programs, Max had only one criterion water, and lots of it.
However, for someone who confesses that she is "allergic" to computers, doing research on the Internet was not a choice for Ms. Mullen. Fortunately, she found Helaine Isaacs of Montgomery.
Helaine Isaacs is an overnight camp consultant for Tips on Trips and Camps, a free consulting service that helps families make informed decisions about summer camps and specialty programs for kids 8 to 18.
"We provide more than just giving people brochures," Ms. Isaacs said. "It’s about trying to help parents identify a program, or a camp, that’s the right fit for their child."
After meeting Max and speaking with his mother, Ms. Isaacs helped to narrow his choices down to Longacre Expeditions in the Virgin Islands. He spent 20 days island-hopping by kayak, learning to snorkel and scuba dive, and camping on beautiful beaches where he discovered a love for fresh coconut milk.
"All I told Helaine is that Max is this old, this is what he is looking for, and this is what interests him," Ms. Mullen said. "She did all the research and had the appropriate programs mail us their brochures."
Matching people to the right place is not new to Ms. Isaacs. Before joining Tips on Trips and Camps three years ago, she worked as a professional recruiting consultant in corporate human resources for many years.
After re-evaluating her life, she sought to match her professional skills with a job flexible enough to allow family time.
"I looked into many things before I found this company," Ms. Isaacs said. "I liked the women who worked there, and I thought they had a great deal of integrity."
Besides saving families time in research, Tips on Trips and Camps carefully screens all programs and camps it recommends. Ms. Isaacs added the company continually updates its evaluations.
"We know the owners of the programs we recommend. We know the directors, and we’ve gotten parent references," Ms. Isaacs said. "There is a certain comfort knowing that someone else has screened these programs."
In January 2003 Ms. Isaacs sponsored a mid-week evening fair that targeted high school students looking for enriching summer experiences. The free event, hosted by the Princeton High School PTO, was open to all Princeton area residents. More than 130 families attended the event, prompting Ms. Isaacs and the PTO to team up again this year.
On Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m., the second annual Summer Trip and Program Fair for Princeton Area High School Students will be held in the Princeton High School cafeteria. Representatives from more than 30 summer programs will be available to meet students and parents to discuss various camping and program options.
"There are possibilities that appeal to all kinds of teenagers. Some prefer a more cerebral experience, others are excited by physical challenge, some want to sleep in a hotel or dormitory throughout their travels and others backpack throughout remote regions," Ms. Isaacs said. "The programs are all valuable and are carefully screened before the fair."
Marielle Roth, a 15-year-old PHS sophomore, attended last year’s fair and was impressed with the variety of choices. Uninterested in any outdoor adventures, she was looking for a program with a music component. She found it in Explorations, a three-and-a-half week academic enrichment program at Yale University.
Although admittedly nervous about attending a large school program, Marielle quickly met new friends and enjoyed the close-knit community of other Explorations attendees and counselors who wore orange tags to identify themselves as part of the program. She joined an a cappella singing group, took classes in art, math and logic, and heard guest speakers who evoked standing ovations. She also attended three Broadway plays "The Lion King," "Movin’ Out" and "Stomp." However, her favorite part of the experience was meeting new friends.
"I liked meeting people from different places," Marielle said. "I still talk to some friends online, and I’m writing to a friend in Greece."
Her mother, Ronni Ticker, said that Ms. Isaacs did an excellent job in helping Marielle narrow down her choices and the fair was an invaluable resource.
"What I liked about the fair is that I didn’t have to ask Marielle ‘Do you like this or that?’" Ms. Ticker said. "I told her she could walk around and find what she wanted. It took the pressure off the situation." Ms. Isaacs said parents could use the fair in various ways. Some do research before and use the fair to narrow down their choices, while others wander around to see the variety of their choices.
Sam Field, a 17-year-old senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, called Ms. Isaacs directly after finding an advertisement for last year’s fair. A longtime veteran of summer camps and college enrichment programs at the Universities of Vermont and Michigan, she was looking for something different. After narrowing her choices to community service or outdoor adventure, she found the perfect combination in a pilot program developed by West Coast Connection.
Sam spent four weeks traveling through the State of Washington working for Habitat for Humanity, an organic farm, a puppy shelter, United Way projects, an Easter Seals day camp, and a land-clearing project. She also went mountain biking, white-water rafting, bungee-jumped off a bridge and sledded down Mount Rainier in a garbage bag.
Besides falling in love with Washington and wanting to go to college on the West Coast, Sam also vowed to keep community service as part of her priorities.
"Even people who went there only to get college credit or to have it look good on their college application learned it was beneficial," Sam said. "Whatever I do, or wherever I am, I want to help the world in some way."
Sam’s mother, Caryl Field, was reluctant to see her daughter leave the country for a more remote setting. She was pleased when Ms. Isaacs helped find a unique program for her daughter in the United States.
"She asked good questions trying to get to know what we were looking for, and she had excellent knowledge of the available programs," Ms. Field said. "It was so much better than going online and clicking on a million Web sites, not knowing what you are looking at, or who you are dealing with."
Ben Turndorf, a 15-year-old Princeton Day School sophomore, was interested in traveling to a Spanish-speaking country. Uninterested in touristy excursions, he preferred an immersion program where he could live and work with people of another culture. His mother, Jill, attended last year’s fair and spoke with Ms. Isaacs. After sifting through several pamphlets and booklets, Ben chose a six-week, cultural immersion program in Mexico called "Where There Be Dragons."
"I liked the itinerary, but the biggest thing was their philosophy," Ben said. "I wasn’t going as a tourist, but as a traveler experiencing life in another culture."
After a short orientation, he lived for two weeks with a non-English-speaking family in a small Mexican town. Following the home-stay and some rugged travel, the group went to the town of Oaxaca on the Pacific Coast to set up a day camp for local children.
"We repaired buildings, painted, and fixed roofs," Ben said. "And then we became the camp counselors."
The hardest part of his trip was not only the culture shock of living with a Mexican family, but also the culture shock of returning to his own. He said it was interesting to discover both the many differences in the two cultures, but also the striking similarities.
Ben’s father, Gary, said that Helaine Isaacs was helpful in finding a suitable program for his son.
"Whenever our son goes some place, we check it out very carefully," Mr. Turndorf said. "We were very pleased with the results."
Ms. Isaacs said a successful fair means that families were well served and got the information they needed to make informed decisions.
"I really love what I do," Ms. Isaacs said. "My satisfaction comes at the end of the summer when a parent calls me to say that their teenager had a wonderful experience."
For more information about the second annual Summer Trip and Program Fair, or for a free consultation on summer opportunities, contact Helaine Isaacs at Tips on Trips and Camps, (609) 497-3434, or online at [email protected].