The Human Advantage: Cultivating Personal Agency and Grit in a Digital World
This week, I attended an event at the Swiss Embassy, hosted by Village Camps, a company giving students around the world a summer camp experience in the Swiss Alps for over 50 years. I expected a sales pitch, but instead participated in an inspiring 3-hour conversation that touched on soft skills, social-emotional skills, AI’s role in how we should be educating students, the importance of helping young people connect to a purpose, and more. So much food for thought; I am sure to be ruminating over this event for a while!
At the very beginning, the moderator for the event, the smart and passionate Monica Fonseca, asked the audience: Who had the chance to attend summer camp when they were young? In an audience of about 50, only a handful of us raised our hands. It’s been nearly 30 years since those formative summers spent at overnight camp, but the time spent there shaped me in ways that perhaps I had not stopped to contemplate until that one question transported me back to the pine hills alongside Lake Fairlee in Vermont.
Parents frequently ask me for my help in finding the right summer program for their child. While some are open to the traditional camp-in-the-woods experience, most are asking about programs that are more academically focused. Both can be valuable, and there is definitely overlap in how they are beneficial, but here I’d like to highlight from my personal experience, both as a camper and as an education professional, a few of the ways a few weeks of recreation in nature can be transformational for adolescents and teens:
1. Independence and Confidence: The Silent Curriculum
In our world of "helicopter parenting"—or what we call mamás gallinas here in Bogotá—true autonomy for young people is a rarity. Camp, however, provides a safe "sandbox" for independence, allowing students to move freely and navigate challenges on their own terms.
Looking back at Vermont, my parents weren’t around to curate my schedule, mediate a spat with a tent-mate, or nag me to pack a raincoat before a long bike trek. Those "pine hill" days forced me to develop the very soft skills we value so much today: communication, time management, and self-regulation.
There is a profound shift that happens when a child realizes they can thrive without a parental buffer. A sturdy, quiet confidence takes root. That internal mantra of "I can do hard things" or "I can figure this out" eventually transcends the summer months. It follows them home, transforming them into resourceful, proactive, and self-assured young adults.
2. Disconnection and Connection
More and more, we are talking about the profound impact technology is having on young people. Data presented in resources such as The Anxious Generation has prompted UNCOLI schools here in Bogotá to eliminate phones during the day. Yet, despite these noble efforts, students (and adults) are increasingly tethered to their screens, spending less time talking, reading, or simply being. When did being bored become such a terrible thing? We have replaced "daydreaming" with "scrolling," and in doing so, we’ve lost the quiet spaces where creativity is born.
In my camp days, cell phones weren’t a thing (writing this makes me feel like a dinosaur), but I didn’t for one second mourn the TV shows I was missing, the AOL messages I wasn’t sending, or the Tetris expertise I wasn’t developing because I’d left my Gameboy behind. (Now I’m really dating myself!) What’s fascinating is that this remains true for today’s generation. When you remove the digital tether, the "phantom limb" of the smartphone disappears remarkably fast. Cell phones are forgotten, and in their place, raw human connection is forged.
At Lake Fairlee, I met girls whose lives were worlds apart from mine. But after the grueling challenge of biking the White Mountains for a week with Charlotte, or the shared vulnerability of practicing for the summer musical with Mary Gray, those differences evaporated. Bonds weren't formed over shared "likes" or curated photos; they were forged in the trenches of shared experience. I can still vividly recall sitting on the porch swing of the camp’s main house during free time, laughing so hard with these friends from different worlds that my ribs ached. That kind of presence—where no one is checking a notification or looking over your shoulder for a better "content" opportunity—is a rare gift in 2026.
This connection found when disconnecting from technology extends far beyond friendships; it is a vital reconnection with nature. It’s a specific kind of peace that is increasingly hard to find in our hyper-connected cities. Even now, decades later, I can summon the sensory memory of those summers: the sharp, clean scent of the pines, the rhythmic sound of water lapping against the edge of the lake, and the chaotic symphony of crickets and night critters that lulled me to sleep.
By removing the "noise" of the digital world, camp allows the "signal" of the natural world to come through. For a child from Bogotá, trading the hum of traffic and the glow of a tablet for the silence of the mountains isn't just a vacation but a nervous system reset. It’s a reminder that they are part of a wider, physical world that doesn't require a battery or a Wi-Fi signal to be beautiful.
3. College-forward skills
For those families and students who read this and are still thinking about filling out an activities list or a resume for university applications, I get it. We want to be strategic in how we spend our summers, especially when the competition for university spots feels more intense than ever. But here is the secret: the most prestigious universities aren't just looking for "hard skills" anymore. They are looking for the "human skills" that ensure a student will actually succeed once they arrive on campus.
So, let’s get specific as to the skills students develop at camp that are incredibly valuable for universities as well:
Agency and Initiative: In a university setting, no one is going to wake a student up for an 8:00 AM lab or tell them how to structure their free time. At camp, I woke to the bugle, but it was my responsibility to actually get up, get ready, and be to breakfast on time. We each had our selected activities for the day, and we were responsible for getting to each one on time. Dedicating one whole summer almost exclusively to mountain biking and then another to rowing was my decision; my parents were not there to tell me what was most important. This allowed me to figure out what mattered to me and assume responsibility for these choices. Colleges want to admit students who are the "drivers" of their own lives, not passengers. Summer camp offers an incredible balance of freedom in a very safe environment, providing baby steps to the future independence one will have at university and beyond.
Collaborative Leadership: Camp leadership isn't about being the loudest person in the room; it’s about mobilizing a group when everyone is tired, hungry, or frustrated. Whether it’s leading a color-war team or organizing a group skit, camp teaches horizontal leadership, the ability to inspire peers through empathy and shared goals rather than just authority.
Resilience and Grit: We often talk about "grit" as a buzzword, but at camp, it’s a lived experience. It’s finishing a hike in the rain or trying again when your archery shot misses the mark. Universities are seeing a rise in students who struggle with the "first-year transition" because they’ve never faced low-stakes failure. A camper has already learned that they can handle discomfort and "figure it out."
We talk a lot in Bogotá about future-proofing our children, usually through the lens of coding, AI, and academic rigor. But as I sat in that three-hour conversation at the Swiss Embassy, I was reminded that the most sophisticated operating system a student can have is a grounded sense of self. Personal agency, human connection, and grit are not just summer camp memories. They are the core competencies of the twenty-first century. In a world where an algorithm can mimic our logic, it is these raw and unfiltered human experiences forged in the mud of Vermont or the thin air of the Swiss Alps that will truly set our children apart. The silent curriculum of camp might just be the most important lesson they ever learn.
