Advanced Leadership Program
Teens entering 10th grade through recent graduates
(I love when former helpers stop by and jump in during college breaks.)
**You do NOT need to have attended BMK camps before, but you are required to attend a spring intro/planning session.
The BMK Advanced Leadership Program is built for teens who want more than volunteer hours. It’s for teens who want real responsibility, real experience, and leadership training that lasts far beyond high school.
This is a program for teens who are ready to step into roles where their choices matter. Where they are trusted. Where their voice carries weight. And where they learn how to lead themselves first so they can lead others well.
There is no cost to participate. Teens in the program are expected to help with at least two camps over the summer. If only one ends up being possible once the schedule is released, I will—as always—take things case by case.
What Teens Will Learn and Lead
Participants help teach and guide younger campers in a wide range of areas:
• Cooking and kitchen skills
• Fire making and outdoor safety
• Archery
• Art and creative projects
• Animal care and farm chores
• Mindfulness and emotional awareness
• Leadership and group management
• Problem-solving, teamwork, and time management
• Reading the moment and adjusting plans quickly
BMK camps are fast-paced and unpredictable in the best ways. Plans change. Kids surprise you. Animals have their own agenda. Weather does what it wants. All of it becomes a training ground for leadership.
Teens learn how to adapt without shutting down, how to communicate clearly under pressure, how to notice what’s happening around them, and how to step in before a small problem becomes a big one.
Over time, they learn to anticipate needs, hold boundaries, and stay steady when the moment isn’t. They learn to operate with integrity even when no one is watching. That’s leadership.
Why This Program Matters
The Advanced Leadership Program is something teens carry with them far beyond a summer at BMK.
It builds the kind of skills that colleges, employers, and scholarships look for but rarely see:
• Initiative
• Accountability
• Emotional control
• Adaptability
• Communication
• Time management
• Confidence under pressure
• Kindness and respect as non-negotiables
This is not shadowing. Teens are not passive. They are leading.
Participants gain:
• Autonomy to run activities
• Input on camp programming (for those enrolled before January)
• Opportunities to design lessons and lead them
• Real responsibility
• Silver Cord volunteer hours
• The confidence that comes from doing hard things
• Letters of recommendation after more than one year of participation or exceptional engagement
Second-year participants also receive leadership titles they can use on college, scholarship, and job applications. There is nothing else like BMK on a resume because nothing else offers this level of responsibility, real-life experience, or freedom to lead.
Redefining Leadership as Lifestyle not Job Title
Leadership here is not about being the loudest voice or the one in charge. It’s about how you behave when the moment asks something of you.
It’s choosing kindness when it would be easier not to.
It’s noticing what needs to be done and doing it without waiting to be told.
It’s staying calm when things get messy.
It’s reading the room.
It’s being the person others can rely on.
The Advanced Leadership Program trains teens to choose the handle that holds—over and over again—so they can take these skills into every part of their lives.
Support, Coaching, and Growth
All participants attend a pre-camp planning meeting where we set personal leadership goals. Throughout the summer, they receive direct, honest feedback and guidance.
I set the bar high because I know they can meet it. And once they do, I help them raise it themselves. My job is to give teens the tools, confidence, and responsibility needed to step into their own leadership—here and wherever they go next.
Camps Available to Lead
• Outdoor adventure camps (fire making, archery, wilderness skills)
• Cooking-focused camps
• Art and creative camps
• DIY Sephora-style camps
• Farm and animal-based camps (baby goats, chickens, timber time)
• Single-day and half-day options
Every camp includes time outdoors, time with animals, and genuine opportunities for teens to practice and grow their leadership.
Advanced Leadership Program
Teens entering 10th grade through recent graduates
(I love when former helpers stop by and jump in during college breaks.)
**You do NOT need to have attended BMK camps before, but you are required to attend a spring intro/planning session.
The BMK Advanced Leadership Program is built for teens who want more than volunteer hours. It’s for teens who want real responsibility, real experience, and leadership training that lasts far beyond high school.
This is a program for teens who are ready to step into roles where their choices matter. Where they are trusted. Where their voice carries weight. And where they learn how to lead themselves first so they can lead others well.
There is no cost to participate. Teens in the program are expected to help with at least two camps over the summer. If only one ends up being possible once the schedule is released, I will—as always—take things case by case.
What Teens Will Learn and Lead
Participants help teach and guide younger campers in a wide range of areas:
• Cooking and kitchen skills
• Fire making and outdoor safety
• Archery
• Art and creative projects
• Animal care and farm chores
• Mindfulness and emotional awareness
• Leadership and group management
• Problem-solving, teamwork, and time management
• Reading the moment and adjusting plans quickly
BMK camps are fast-paced and unpredictable in the best ways. Plans change. Kids surprise you. Animals have their own agenda. Weather does what it wants. All of it becomes a training ground for leadership.
Teens learn how to adapt without shutting down, how to communicate clearly under pressure, how to notice what’s happening around them, and how to step in before a small problem becomes a big one.
Over time, they learn to anticipate needs, hold boundaries, and stay steady when the moment isn’t. They learn to operate with integrity even when no one is watching. That’s leadership.
Why This Program Matters
The Advanced Leadership Program is something teens carry with them far beyond a summer at BMK.
It builds the kind of skills that colleges, employers, and scholarships look for but rarely see:
• Initiative
• Accountability
• Emotional control
• Adaptability
• Communication
• Time management
• Confidence under pressure
• Kindness and respect as non-negotiables
This is not shadowing. Teens are not passive. They are leading.
Participants gain:
• Autonomy to run activities
• Input on camp programming (for those enrolled before January)
• Opportunities to design lessons and lead them
• Real responsibility
• Silver Cord volunteer hours
• The confidence that comes from doing hard things
• Letters of recommendation after more than one year of participation or exceptional engagement
Second-year participants also receive leadership titles they can use on college, scholarship, and job applications. There is nothing else like BMK on a resume because nothing else offers this level of responsibility, real-life experience, or freedom to lead.
Redefining Leadership as Lifestyle not Job Title
Leadership here is not about being the loudest voice or the one in charge. It’s about how you behave when the moment asks something of you.
It’s choosing kindness when it would be easier not to.
It’s noticing what needs to be done and doing it without waiting to be told.
It’s staying calm when things get messy.
It’s reading the room.
It’s being the person others can rely on.
The Advanced Leadership Program trains teens to choose the handle that holds—over and over again—so they can take these skills into every part of their lives.
Support, Coaching, and Growth
All participants attend a pre-camp planning meeting where we set personal leadership goals. Throughout the summer, they receive direct, honest feedback and guidance.
I set the bar high because I know they can meet it. And once they do, I help them raise it themselves. My job is to give teens the tools, confidence, and responsibility needed to step into their own leadership—here and wherever they go next.
Camps Available to Lead
• Outdoor adventure camps (fire making, archery, wilderness skills)
• Cooking-focused camps
• Art and creative camps
• DIY Sephora-style camps
• Farm and animal-based camps (baby goats, chickens, timber time)
• Single-day and half-day options
Every camp includes time outdoors, time with animals, and genuine opportunities for teens to practice and grow their leadership.
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