Meet Emily who used her personal negative experiences from her school to fuel her year long community project. She is giving a presentation focused on educating the staff at her school on how to prepare and interact with disabled students in emergency situations. During the EmpowHer camping trip she learned how to build a fire and her biggest accomplishment during camp was learning how to use a power chair for the first time. SInce her great experience at camp one of her goals is to get her own power chair as well as take control of her health. She is obsessed with America Ferreira and also watching Gilmore Girls. Her love for film and Broadway has inspired her hobby since COVID quarantine, “I’m also a writer, I have been writing a TV series called the rainforest kids”. She is mostly looking forward to staying in a hotel and exploring places in Washington D.C. for the reunion trip next summer.

Meet Giana who is a Queen at doing makeup. Since the EmpowHer Camp Adirondacks camping trip, Giana takes pride in how independent she is becoming. During this year her goal is to focus on transferring in and out of her wheelchair independently. She loved learning how to build a fire while camping. Her community year long project is to get evacuation chairs in her school. She has learned her school does not have an effective evacuation system and this shortcoming relates to struggles she has to deal with. In her spare time when she is not working hard on her project and doing makeup; she loves listening to music and painting. She is really looking forward to seeing all of her friends during the Washington D.C. reunion trip. 

Meet Keira who is also known as an animal whisperer to her family. Keira found acceptance during the EmpowHer Cmap camping trip last summer. “I feel more confident in who I am now and realize that having autism can be my strength. I like being different.” Her year long community emergency preparedness project is to make comfort kits that include sensory items such as fidgets, stuffed animals, and blankets, as well as ear plugs to help with overstimulation as well as water for hydration and other basic needs for the shelters to use, or in the case of emergencies. Throughout the year her personal goal is making one good friend and joining a group sport during her sophomore year. For fun her passion for writing is expanding and loves writing scary stories. Her favorite authors are R.L. Stein and Torey Hayden. For the Washington D.C. reunion trip she is most looking forward to seeing her friends again, because she is not just a girl with a disability when she is around them, but she is a person worth knowing. 

Meet Macie who loves Broadway musicals. During the EmpowHer camping trip she learned that disabled people can do anything that able-bodied people can do. Macie believes there aren't enough resources to accommodate blind people and those who work better with audio information. Therefore for her community emergency preparedness project she is working on a flood preparedness pamphlet in braille, large print, and audio versions. Since last summer she is proud of getting all her homework done and getting good grades. One of her goals is to be more organized and minimize procrastination.  She continues to do adaptive basketball and singing and recently enjoys learning to paint in her art class. One thing she can not get enough of is sleeping with her dogs when her mom is not home. For the Washington D.C. reunion trip, “I am most looking forward to sight seeing (all the memorials) and using my new power wheelchair”. 

Meet Madison who learned many things from the EmpowHer camping trip but the one that meant the most is she learned how to better advocate for herself and her needs. Also during camp her now mentor inspired her idea for her community project by introducing her to the evacuation chair. “At my school I am supposed to just wait in the stairwell and I never thought this was very safe but I never knew about another option”. Now her emergency preparedness project is to get evacuation chairs into her school and write a white paper highlighting the importance of them. Since camp she is extremely proud of making the varsity squad for her high school softball team. When she isn’t working hard and taking care of business on the field she loves going to concerts and has also picked up a new hobby of line dancing. One of her goals this year is to get her car adapted so she can begin driving. She is looking forward to seeing other campers and mentors during the Washington D.C. reunion trip. 

Meet Peyton (Ace) who describes themself as ‘confident’. The things that bring the most joy to them include, performing in plays, singing and listening to music, and playing Villainous, the board game. They are extremely proud of being a good person to everyone. Their favorite music artists are Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, and Queen. When they get older they want to be a famous chef. They will get lots of practice at EmpowHer because they are most looking forward to the cooking. In their own upcoming movie called ‘Clue: The Movie’ they are portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.