Tabitha Witsken

Tabitha Witsken, a MVHS junior, traded broad desert vistas for the green woods of the Chattahoochee National Forest to attend the 2011 Teen Leadership Summit at the Wahsega 4-H Camp Center near Dahlonega, Georgia. After completing a lengthy application and two essay questions this past spring, Tabitha was awarded a scholarship to attend the Summit which was held June 19-24.

Over 700 applications were submitted for the weeklong camp. The Summit is sponsored by the Air Force Reserve (AFR) and the Air National Guard (ANG) for military dependent teens ages 14-18. It’s stated purpose is to foster leadership skills and build an appreciation of the military community.

All of the costs of the 118 participants; including airfare, camp fees, food, activity fees, and ground transportation; were paid for by the Air Force. The teens were flown in from forty-eight states not excluding Hawaii and Alaska. Witsken was the only camper representing Nevada.

The Summit expects the teens to try new things and push the limits.

“When I arrived at the Atlanta airport I almost had a heart attack because I couldn’t find my camp leaders at first,” Witsken said. “Traveling alone is scary.”

With that experience behind her, Tabitha enjoyed the camp; testing the boundaries by rock climbing, white water rafting, and zip lining. Other camp activities included leadership seminars, survival training, stream ecology, and herpetology.

Additionally, the Summit requires campers to participate in community service. Tabitha participated in making baskets for the Veteran’s Administration Hospital and donated new items to be distributed to veterans.

The Band of the Air Force Reserve performed at the Summit giving the teens some down time to dance and socialize.

On the final night a banquet was held. Each camper was presented a certificate and, in military tradition, a coin.

While in the South, Tabitha said that she added some new words to her vocabulary: copperhead, crawdaddies, Bojangles, wacuzzi, and ya’ll.

One of the campers was bitten by a copperhead, a venomous snake. The teen was reportedly treated and was back at camp the next day.

Tabitha fished for crawdads in a nearby stream.

She was told that Bojangles’ is the best fried chicken joint in the South.

A wacuzzi is a waterfall pond that the teenagers swam in while at Camp Wahsega.

Lastly, ya’ll is a staple of Southern vernacular. “I love the Southern accent,” Tabitha said. “The people are so friendly and hospitable.”

Next year Tabitha hopes to apply for a Summit scholarship for second year campers to Washington, D.C.

The camp is open to military dependent teens? Information is available by logging on to the Air Force Reserve Command Family Member Programs website at www.afrc.af.mil/library/4rfamilies.