Most parents think about camp as a summer thing.
Two months. Running around outside. Some new friends. Maybe a skill or two. Come home a little (or a lot) more confident.
All of that is totally real. But there is this other thing going on at camp that doesn’t get talked about enough.
Campers join a real network.
Not in some abstract, LinkedIn-buzzword way. A real one. The kind that actually functions. The kind where people actually show up for each other.
The only other place like this?
Think about why college networks work.
You live together for an extended stretch of time. You go through real stuff together, not just classes, but the late nights and the hard moments and the things that bond people fast. You develop pride in the place. The name means something. The colors mean something. The years you were there mean something.
And then it follows you for decades.
That’s why “Harvard class of 2000” carries weight in a room. If someone went there when you went there, you already have a baseline of trust. You’ll take the meeting. You’ll reply to the email.
Camp checks every single one of those boxes.
“Harvard class of 2000” means something, and “Hut 6 2021” does too. That’s how our oldest boys refer to themselves. Girls Juniper 2021 same way.
And honestly? I think it means more. You weren’t in a lecture hall together. You were in a bunk together for 6 and a half weeks. You ate every meal together. You figured out how to live together. You actually love these people.
That’s the difference. When a K&E alum helps you out, it’s not because of some name next to yours on a résumé. It’s because these are people they genuinely care about. That’s a completely different thing.
Who’s actually in this network
I’m still learning the full scope of these networks. These honest-to-goodness friendships.
But I’ve already met K&E alumni who are real estate executives, lawyers, screenwriters, entrepreneurs, teachers, software engineers, school psychologists, social media influencers. And those are just the ones I’ve crossed paths with. The network goes way deeper than what I can rattle off right now.
One thing I hear from alumni: if you send an email to another K&E alum and mention your bunk and your year, they’re going to write back. They’re going to have a real convo with you, and they’re going to actually try to help.
Because they were there too. They know what the lake looks like in August. They remember what Hut 6 grilling smelled like in the evening. These are their people. And when your people reach out, you show up for them.
What we are thinking about
There’s a current counselor here, Gabe, who has been thinking about this longer than I have.
Gabe has this dream of formalizing the alumni network. Not in a complicated, fundraising-campaign kind of way. Just in a “let’s make it easier for people to find each other and actually help each other” kind of way.
He’s excited to someday be the one helping the future Hut 6 of 2050. He’s already thinking about being on the giving end of this thing decades from now.
That’s the network working. Not from the top down. From inside the community itself.
My job is to help continue building what’s already here. This network existed long before I arrived at K&E, and I’m reminded of that every time I meet an alum with an Eagle Pond story. It’s deep. It’s been here a long time. And I want to see if keep growing.
If you haven’t experienced K&E yet
Kids don’t just come to camp. They join something that will keep showing up for them.
The friends they make each summer are going to go on to do things. Interesting things. And yeah, someday they might work together or open doors for each other. But that’s almost beside the point.
The real thing is that these are going to be their people. For real. The kind you actually pick up the phone for, not because you have to, but because you want to.
If you’re an alum and this resonates with you, I’d genuinely love to hear what you’ve been thinking. We are just getting started on this, and the ideas and energy from people who lived it matter a lot.
And if you’re a family still thinking about this summer, this is part of what you’re signing up for.
You got this, Jack
P.S. Do you know a young person who would love to join a network like this? Let’s talk camp
P.P.S. I am up at camp all month, posting videos from different spots every day. Follow along at any of the links below.
