Mountain Wisdom guides youth through vital Rites of Passage
by Whitney Crouch
wcrouch@timescourier.com
“Hawkeye” Jay Zipperman has long fostered a passion for mentoring young people and helping them to achieve their full potential. He firmly believes that it takes a village to raise a child, but readily admits his fears that our society has lost some of the important meaning encapsulated in that proverb.
He explained that for thousands of years, societies have led their young people through rites of passage, and these initiation ceremonies allowed the community as a whole to intentionally bring their children into adulthood. In America, however, there is not a clearly defined time when a child begins moving to adulthood and undergoes a transformative experience with the support of their “village.”
In an effort to fill this gap, Zipperman founded Mountain Wisdom, Inc., a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization with the purpose of helping young men and women begin the process of moving from one stage of life to another during a weeklong camp experience.
This program is designed for young people between the ages of 12 and 17 and reaches individuals from diverse backgrounds and a wide variety of socioeconomic levels. Some campers could be boys being raised by single mothers who need responsible male role models, while others might be young girls from foster families that need to develop a greater sense of self-worth.
Whatever the camper’s background, Mountain Wisdom “has set forth in a conscious and purposeful manner to guide young men and women into adulthood.”
This goal is accomplished through a fun-filled, transformational experience in the outdoors that molds teens into more conscientious and responsible individuals.
Guided by groups of dedicated adults, who serve as mentors and role models, the teens embark on a week of self-discovery. Zipperman seeks to maintain a three to one camper to staff ratio, which results in a lot of personalized attention for each teen.
The Boys’ Rites of Passage (BROP) program is a camp experience for young men. They participate in a number of exciting activities, including hiking, creek walks, team games and leadership training. Along the way, they utilize good stewardship techniques, such as Leave No Trace, in order to understand the need for a respectful approach to the environment.
The young men also learn survival skills, such as erecting a shelter, building a fire, tying knots and purifying water. Zipperman observed that these skills help them to feel more prepared for life and serve as a life metaphor for self-reliance and belief in one’s abilities.
The campers are also invited to step out of their comfort zone by completing a solo, overnight camping trip (Note: although the teen is alone, an adult is close by and is available to monitor their needs and well-being). Similar to a Native American vision quest, this solitary experience allows the teens to engage in an introspective look at their personal goals, responsibilities and attitudes. Zipperman observed that this experience, which many adults never do, is a great confidence builder for the campers and they greatly enjoy it.
During the week, the boys also create a code of honor that they want to live by.
New Outlook Wilderness Adventure Camp (NOWAC) serves as a continuation of the BROP experience and is available for graduates of that program. During this camp, young men continue their journey toward manhood and learn to mentor and teach first year campers. They also engage in more high adventure activities, such as backpacking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, repelling and camping.
Mountain Wisdom recently added a new program called Rites of Passage Experience — Girls to Women (ROPE).
This camp experience is designed to help young women “overcome limiting fears and beliefs” through activities, such as dance, theatre, crafts, team building games, leadership training and environmental awareness and conservation.
Susan McGowan, Ph.D., has coordinated the girls’ camp for three years and described it as a groundbreaking program since it is one of the only rites of passages experiences for girls in the United States.
The goal of the camp is to help girls “understand the qualities and gifts of being a woman.”
McGowan encourages her staff members to think about what they wish they had known as teenagers and figure out how to convey those messages to the campers. In this way, they deal with issues of beauty, self-respect and other unique challenges that young women face. There is also a strong focus on forgiveness in order to help the girls learn how to not carry baggage into their adult lives.
In each of these three camp experiences, a strong emphasis is placed on leadership. Throughout the week, campers have the opportunity to take on leadership roles and receive feedback from their peers.
“In the midst of camp, it’s amazing to watch them step up,” stated McGowan.
She also explained that her niece has participated in ROPE for two years, and the experience has helped her to develop “a much greater awareness of the importance of community” and to realize that “it is not all about her.”
“As she walks through … this big transition [of adolescence], seeing her have more confidence in herself is such a great gift,” added McGowan.
After completing the program, campers and parents report numerous positive changes, including a greater sense of enthusiasm, better relationships with family members, a greater willingness to honor authority, a sense of purpose, a higher level of self-esteem and more respect for themselves and others.
Many of the campers also develop a greater desire to serve their community and have a better sense of purpose, knowing that they can make a difference in the world around them.
To help commemorate and celebrate this type of growth, Mountain Wisdom hosts a type of graduation ceremony at the end of each camp. Drawing from Native American traditions of rites of passage, campers’ families are invited to attend this event and as Zipperman explained, they “receive [the camper] back as someone a little different.”
He encourages parents to recognize that their son or daughter is “not a little kid anymore” and urges them to give the young adult more responsibilities after their growth experience at camp.
While Zipperman admits that this approach of using indigenous style ceremonies is “not exactly mainstream,” he has seen it serve as an important mile-marker in the lives of young people.
“When [the campers] leave they feel more self-worth,” he explained. “They realize they are important and can have an impact.”
In addition to helping young adults develop life skills and build character, the Mountain Wisdom programs are designed to help teens encounter and appreciate nature.
“Kids these days aren’t digging holes, building tree houses, catching frogs or lizards, frolicking in the creek like they have done for thousands of years,” wrote Zipperman in a description of Mountain Wisdom’s activities. “Nature is increasingly only experienced by watching the nature channel on television. Children are slowly becoming disconnected. Many young people are succumbing to what is called ‘nature deficit disorder.’”
Indeed, according to a 2005 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Stanford University, children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of six-and-a-half hours each day interacting with electronic media.
As observed by the Georgia’s No Child Left Inside Coalition, this type of media saturated lifestyle leads to a more sedentary lifestyle and has led to a rise of “childhood obesity, hypertension, attention disorders, depression, impaired social skills, lack of creativity and other ills.”
Zipperman firmly believes in the importance of getting children back outside. As a result, many of the activities at camp incorporate elements of environmental conservation and natural awareness. He hopes that the teens will enjoy their experience in the mountains and that it will inspire them to develop a lifelong passion for the outdoors.
To help them focus on their tasks at hand and their goals of self-improvement, the teens are not permitted to use technology while at camp. Once they return home, however, many of the campers stay in touch with one another through social networks. In this way, they continue to help one another overcome their problems and struggles.
McGowan observed that it is “neat to see them support each other in really mature ways even after camp.”
Overall, the Mountain Wisdom experience has a positive impact on the lives of young people, as well as the adults who volunteer at the camps.
“I wouldn’t not do this for the world,” McGowan stated enthusiastically, adding that Mountain Wisdom has given her the “opportunity to do something of impact for the world.”
To find out how you can get involved as a volunteer, to make a tax-deductible donation that will help a young man or woman attend camp or to offer in-kind services, visit www.mountainwisdominc.org or contact Mountain Wisdom at 706-276-2595 or camp@mountainwisdominc.org.