Multiple speakers, a banquet dinner, even a magic show – campers at HDI’s Summer Leadership Experience Camp were busy – but they learned a lot.
The Human Development Institute’s Summer Leadership Experience Camp is a program that is held for several days on the University of Kentucky’s campus that, this year, started on July 16 and continued until July 20. It’s open to Kentucky high school upper class students with disabilities who are figuring out what they want to do after high school. The camp is designed to offer them helpful information on multiple options for the next chapter in their lives, as well as tools to thrive wherever it might take them. Sessions cover topics from the many options for post-secondary education to how to access academic accommodations to lessons on self-advocacy.
According to Teresa Belluscio, Camp Director, this is a rare opportunity for young Kentuckians.
“There aren’t any or very few of these in the state of Kentucky,” Belluscio said. “This is a unique opportunity that is open to all high school students across Kentucky with disabilities.”
This year, there were multiple changes to the camp’s structure – it began a day earlier than it has in previous years, allowing for additional activities and programming as well as more time for students to catch their breath in between sessions. Belluscio thinks this was a positive change.
“I can tell from the campers that they were more relaxed. Campers had a little more time to talk in between sessions, so I felt like they were getting to know each other better and interacting more with the staff,” she said. “We didn’t feel rushed trying to get from one place to another, start the next session or the next activity.”
Camp will be held again in July 2025. For more information, visit https://hdi.uky.edu/project/summer-leadership-experience-camp