I was able to attend the Arizona State University Connections Camp. Connections Camp was designed for Children with hearing impairment issues entering grades 2–5. 

This was the first time ASU had a camp like this for kids like us!! Before the Connections Camp I did not know any kids who had hearing impairments. I felt like I found a group of people like me in different ways but also in a lot of ways.

We did so many fun things during camp time. My mom dropped me off by 8:30 a.m., but sometimes we were late because of traffic. I’d get so upset with the cars on the road because I never wanted miss anything happening at Connection Camp. My birthday was June 19 and the camp staff surprised me with yummy cupcakes!!!! I had the best day ever with my new friends that were like me. 

There were a lot of things to do, but some of the big things we did was, first we saw an amazing magician, we tie-died shirts, we saw Dominic who is Deaf and Play-doh, his smart dog, that assists him daily with his hearing loss challenges. We had healthy, yummy snacks everyday. Everyone’s favorite game was headbands and it’s an extremely fun game where you have to guess. Overall, I feel like I gained much and made a lot of new friends. 

Outside of the Speech and Hearing Clinic there were a mass amount of very cute bunnies running around!! If you ever get to visit you’ll see them! 

I just honestly want to say, thank you, to Arizona State University and to donors Dr. Michael Gatto and Michele Michaels! After the Connections Camp I was offered a paid research opportunity to help out the researchers so they can better assist kids with hearing loss.

I didn’t go to Disneyland this summer or the beach because our family just bought an awesome new house and we’re moving to a new neighborhood. But, I had the time of my life at Connections Camp!!!