By Amada Montelongo | Alumni and Marketing Development Coordinator
How Camp Everytown Helped Me be Me
By Linda Z.
There is definitely a long-term impact of attending Camp Everytown back in 2009. During that period of time, I was a high school junior and it was only a year after I was diagnosed with lupus. I was put on a regimen of immunosuppressants and steroids that caused my face to become extremely swollen to the point beyond recognition, even by my closest friends. As an adolescent trying to fit into high school, it was humiliating for me to walk around getting stared at by my peers who didn't understand what I was going through.
However, going to Camp Everytown helped me understand that a lot of judgement by my peers stemmed from a lack of
awareness. I realized that I, too, am guilty of making judgments about others due to my own limited understanding.
Today, I share my story, ask questions, and listen to others in order to develop a better mutual understanding. This open-mindedness also translates very well to the future career in medicine that I envision for myself where being understanding and empathetic is extremely important when delivering high-quality patient care. I just graduated with honors from UC Berkeley this past May with a Bachelor’s in molecular and cellular biology and am currently applying for medical school while working at a startup company in San Francisco.
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