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Gender Diverse Housing at Odyssey Teen Camp

By Adam Simon | February 23, 2022 | Comments Off on Gender Diverse Housing at Odyssey Teen Camp
Group of gender diverse teens outside of their cabin

Our biggest question One of the biggest questions we get all year is how we assign campers to their cabins at OTC.  Unlike many other camps that decide to house based on the binary genders of “boys” and “girls,” we at OTC have chosen a different approach. We have listened to counselors and campers over…

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Giving the Gift of “Magic” (The Gathering)

By Odyssey Teen Camp | November 10, 2021 | Comments Off on Giving the Gift of “Magic” (The Gathering)
Magic: The Gathering at Odyssey Teen Camp - Video Thumbnail

  I freshly remember my first experience with Magic: the Gathering (shortened to Magic for the rest of this post) at OTC. Here I am, a 13-year-old kid so far tainted by society that I start my first summer at camp trying to find out where I “fit in” and who I have to pretend…

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Telling Ourselves a Different Story 

By Adam Simon | October 6, 2021 | Comments Off on Telling Ourselves a Different Story 
Camper Performs at Talent Show

Learning from disappointment and frustration When a camper wants to call home after only being there for a few days, they usually ask their parents to come and get them. They are tired from walking; they don’t love the rustic camping lifestyle; they miss their cell phones or all of the above. Usually, parents reluctantly…

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Anything But Typical: Celebrating Neurodiversity at Odyssey Teen Camp

By Georgios Tsangaris | April 28, 2021 | Comments Off on Anything But Typical: Celebrating Neurodiversity at Odyssey Teen Camp
Georgios Tsangaris with dog

Too often, young people are punished for being different. As a neurodivergent person, my teenage years were punctuated by pressures to conform. Teachers and authority figures weren’t interested in how my mysterious brain worked or how fully I felt my feelings.  They were interested in how well I would do well on standardized tests and…

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What Social Justice Looks Like at Odyssey Teen Camp

By Adam Simon | March 25, 2021 | Comments Off on What Social Justice Looks Like at Odyssey Teen Camp
Teen holds up a protesting sign

“What are the ideas that will liberate all of us? Science fiction is simply a way to practice the future together…practicing futures together, practicing justice together, living into new stories. It is our right and responsibility to create a new world.” -adrienne marie brown, Emergent Strategies: Shaping Change, Shaping Worlds In the summer of 2020,…

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The Gift of Being a Non Profit Summer Camp

By Adam Simon | February 1, 2021 | Comments Off on The Gift of Being a Non Profit Summer Camp
Group of teens hug goodbye intensely

I asked my wife while we were walking our dogs the other day why I didn’t make OTC a non-profit years ago, and she said, “you were always so busy planning for summer.” I thought, “oh, yeah, I remember that,” but if I knew then what I know now, I would have focused more on…

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Our Summers Save Lives

By Adam Simon | November 8, 2020 | Comments Off on Our Summers Save Lives
Adam Simon, Odyssey Teen Camp Director with campers.

20 years ago, when I started Odyssey Teen Camp, I could not have imagined the impact this camp would have on my life and thousands of other people’s lives. A safe space The concept was simple – create a summer camp for teenagers where they were safe from bullying and emotional abuse. A place where…

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From a Feeling of Malice to Hope: One Camper’s Personal Odyssey

By Odyssey Teen Camp | November 2, 2020 | Comments Off on From a Feeling of Malice to Hope: One Camper’s Personal Odyssey
Kendall with their guitar

Odyssey Teen Camp means different things to different campers, but one thing they all can agree on is that OTC changed their life. Kendall was a camper at OTC starting in 2014. His life was transformed as he built friendships, discovered a new sense of belonging and regained his confidence. Here Kendall shares his story…

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How My Twice Exceptional (2e) Teen Became a Happy Camper

By Adam Simon | November 26, 2019 | Comments Off on How My Twice Exceptional (2e) Teen Became a Happy Camper
Fin wearing a grass suit

A mom recently wrote about her son Fen’s experience at camp. He’s been coming to OTC for the past five years. Fen is one of the most original, interesting, and hilarious campers who has come to camp. He’s not always the easiest, and when he first came to camp, he seemed to want to go…

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Top Ten Things I’ve Learned About 2e (Twice Exceptional) Teens

By Adam Simon | October 14, 2019 | Comments Off on Top Ten Things I’ve Learned About 2e (Twice Exceptional) Teens
Adam Simon with two teens at camp

I’ve been learning about twice exceptionality (2e) from some moms whose 2e teens come to camp. They are great advocates for their children and all 2e kids. I’m particularly grateful to Kim Pine, who wrote an informative post about her 2e son’s camp experience, and Maratea Cantarella from Twice Exceptional Children’s Advocacy (TECA), who have…

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Find Out About Odyssey Teen Camp

A Non-Profit Overnight Summer Camp For Teens Ages 13-18
Located in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.

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