WEEK

From the Editor

Another summer has passed by, and I once again find myself here: it’s October, I spend a lot of time talking about how cold it suddenly is outside, and I’m writing this letter as the very last thing I do before this book is finished. Camp feels a little far away — but summer 2022 was a perfect reminder of how it’s never as far as it seems. When I stepped onto campus in July, I was both amazed and unsurprised at the way that coming back to Kiniya immediately felt like coming home. This was a feeling that I found to be especially strong throughout camp this summer, as we welcomed community from far and wide, ranging from first year campers to alumni who hadn’t been on Colchester’s shores in multiple years. Whether it’s the first steps onto campus ever, or since 2020, or in years and years prior to that, camp has this habit of making you feel like you’re exactly where you should be.

Creating The Spirit continues to be a privilege, and one that wouldn’t be possible without the help of countless individuals. While I unfortunately can’t list everyone who played a role in this book in some way (we have a page limit!), I want to give some special ‘thank you’s:

To the Kiniya leaders and sta , who went above and beyond this summer in their willingness to help pubs capture as many memories as possible. Whether it was providing updates on the goings ons of activities or spare hands to take photos, you made it possible to document this summer. Even when those photos were .5s. A special thanks goes to Hanna, Charlie, Reilly and Julia for being the starting lineup for pubs on the busiest of days!

To Marnie, for her leadership and for ensuring the many details of this book are exactly as they need to be. To my radio cat, and everyone who searched tirelessly on the occasions that it went amiss.

To Brendan, Kirsten, Drew, and Bo for inspiring me with their hard work, creativity, and colleague-ship. Whether it was guidance on blog posts, lessons on drone flight, or assisting in capturing moments at Kiniya, I’m grateful for the work you guys do for both sides of the lake. To Dave, for helping to make sure the cover was the best it could be (again!). And to Dawn, for helping with the roster (I hope it inspires some letter writing)!

To Fiona, for being Fiona! And to Glenn and Wubba for being Glenn, and Wubba, and also Glubba.

To my friends in Burlington for listening to me mention for the 100th time that I was still working on this project, and providing words of encouragement as if it was only mention 1 or 2 - appreciate you!

To Chandler and Malcolm for their love, support, quizzes on my ability to read an analogue watch, and for making this twelfth summer I spent at Kiniya one of my favorites so far.

And of course, a huge thank you goes to the campers that fill this book, and Kiniya’s summers, with laughter and light. You guys make this the best job in the world.

And thanks to you for taking the time to read this, and for hopefully taking even more time to soak up the memories on these pages; I hope they make you feel at home. May you always find yourself back on Kiniya shores.

- #20982 Ibby Maruca