Adventures All Around: My Journey with CCMI

By June Roettger, Outdoor Skills Instructor

One spring day in 2016, the Program Manager of Summer Youth Corps (SYC) walked into the Apple Store where my mom worked. During their appointment, he told her about his job at CCMI. Upon hearing his tales of teenage crews working in the woods, she decided that I, her outdoor enthusiast daughter, would be a good fit for the program. So I applied.

Unfortunately, I was a bit late, so I wasn’t accepted. But two days before SYC started, my mom got a call from the Program Manager. He said that a Youth Member had dropped out and he would like to offer me a spot with SYC. I hemmed and hawed for the few short hours I was given to make a choice, wondering if I could stand being away for a month.

Driven by wanderlust, I made a hasty decision that permanently altered the course of my life.

My first week at SYC was rough. The work was hard. The days were long. The mosquitos buzzing in my ears nearly drove me mad. I didn’t know anyone. But as I came to see, I had friends all around me. I just didn’t know it yet.

After receiving dedicated encouragement from my Crew Leaders, I fell in love with SYC. I formed close bonds. I immersed myself in the breathtaking natural world around me. I spent evenings with my belly full of deep laughter and hearty camp food. I wasn’t just a member of a team; I was part of a family now.

When I returned from SYC, I felt that no one back home truly understood the beautiful community and active stewardship I had been a part of the past month. So the next year, I applied again.

After the 2017 session, life unfolded and the sand of time slipped through my fingers. Suddenly, it was 2024 and I was checking my email. I received a message calling SYC alumni to apply for the upcoming session. I felt joy rising within me as I dreamt about returning to this incredible program once more.

A few weeks after applying to be a Crew Leader, happy tears streamed down my face as I read my job offer. I let out excited exclamations over my chance to welcome another generation to SYC.

The summer of 2024 was the most challenging experience of my life; but the adversity I faced drew from within me a fortitude I never knew existed. I worked long, hard days, experiencing last-minute challenges, merciless weather, a seemingly endless army of mosquitoes, and fourteen separate moose encounters on Isle Royale. Even after countless summer days of wondering if I was cut out for this job, I found that by the end, I had more to give.

This spring, I was offered a position as a Field Coordinator for SYC. However, it was eventually determined that SYC would not be able to run this summer. When I heard the news, I requested that should any opportunity arise for me to join CCMI this summer, I wanted to hear about it.

That day, I talked with my friend who was also set to participate in the 2025 SYC session. In the midst of our lamenting, we reminded each other that this is not the end of the road; there are adventures all around. It’s just a matter of finding them.

On Friday, May 16th, not even twenty-four hours after finding out SYC was cancelled, I received an opportunity to be an Outdoor Skills Instructor for the I Can! Program. In an unexpected moment of deja vu, I was given three hours to respond to the offer.

While contemplating this new prospect, I reflected on the willingness of my fifteen year old self to embark on an unknown adventure on that life-changing day back in 2016, and thought, “what would she do?”

As the newest member of the I Can! Team, I frankly have no idea what’s in store for me this summer. I don’t know anyone. I don’t know the structure of the program the way I do SYC. But I do know a few things for certain. I will find friends. I will find strength. I will learn. I will grow. I will give.

And perhaps most certainly of all, there will be mosquitos.