June 13, 2019
Katie Brengel (left) and her friend, Kathryn Gerogiannis (right) at Rockbridge in 2017.
In 2017, Katie Brengel went to her first Young Life camp at Rockbridge in Goshen, Virginia. Two years later she is serving at the same camp. Brengel started doing Young Life her freshman year and is an active member to this day.
For three and a half weeks, Brengel will be on work crew, a group of rising seniors and rising college students who serve the campers each summer by cleaning their cabins, serving their meals, washing dishes, and landscaping. Brengel will be a part of the housekeeping group whose main job will be to keep the campers cabins clean and change the bed sheets every couple of days.
Frederick County Young Life leader, and Linganore graduate, Chris Eckard, who was influential in getting Brengel involved in work crew, knows that doing volunteer work for a month will be challenging but worth it. Eckard was part of summer staff when he was in college.
Eckard said, “Hundreds of thousands of students will experience the best week of their life at a Young Life camp this summer — and that is in part due to those who give up part of their summer to serve on work crew. The lifelong impact makes all the hard work behind the scenes worth it.”
While doing volunteer work may not sound like a fun summer activity, Brengel knew she wanted to do this since her freshman year.
“I really enjoy Young Life and want to continue to be a part of it outside of high school. I thought work crew would be a great way to give back,” said Brengel. “My leader, Katie Eckard brought up the idea of work crew to me, and I knew I wanted to do it as soon as I found out about it.”
While Brengel will be serving on work crew from July 23 to August 15, she also has the privilege to go to camp with Frederick County Young Life. This summer, they will be attending Lake Champion, in Glen Spey, New York from July 6 to July 12. This trip is open to any high school students in Frederick County and is still open to register.
Young Life camp is a chance for high schoolers to just let loose and be themselves. It’s all about building relationships, having fun, and learning to cope with pressure and stress.
“Young Life to me is a way to learn how to build personal relationships in a way that is fun and engaging to teenagers,” said Brengel.
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