Presenting Nivonim and Rosh Aidah, Ben Davis!

Ben Davis, this year's Rosh Nivonim, brings plenty of new ideas to the plate. This native of Skokie, Illinois attended Ramah from 1996-2000, participated on Seminar 2001, and has been on staff ever since. Ben will be a senior at Rutgers University next year and hopes to pursue a graduate degree in social work. Returning for a second year as a Rosh Aidah, Ben is full of enthusiasm for what has happened so far this summer and what will occur in the last two weeks of camp!

Ben: My goals for this summer are to create as cohesive a community as possible among the Nivonim and to show the kids that this is not just another summer at camp - they are here for other people in the aidah and in the community.

Nivonim is a special aidah in camp, and not only because it is the camper's last year here. Nivonimers are able to grasp more mature and complicated concepts than other campers, which leads to more possibilities, programmatically speaking, and their schedule is more fluid, so they have the opportunity to take part in many unique programs.

Our theme this summer is "Creation." The Nivo English play, which was written, produced, and acted by Nivonim campers, was about different stories of creation in Jewish history.

We also have a "Summer-long Educational Project," which is a Nivonim commentary and interpretation of the creation story found in Bereshit [Genesis]. The end result will be a book, in which the first couple of Perakim [chapters] from Bereshit and accompanying translations are included, and then there will be creative writing, photography, and art projects about creation. Our goal is for creation to become a personal story, with relevance in our everyday lives.

Another great program, which we've continued from previous years, is the Internship Program, in which campers can involve themselves in different Anafim [lit. branches, but refers to specialty divisions] around camp. They can work in the Omanut [art] and help younger campers with their projects or intern in Muzika [music] and compose original songs. What I like about the program, and what the Nivonimers have enjoyed, is that they can work both with kids and behind the scenes, much as a regular staff member does.

My favorite part of the summer has been seeing this aidah grow up and mature to be leaders for themselves and the camp in a positive way. I am looking forward to this coming Shabbat, because the CIT's [Counselors-in-Training] in Nivonim have planned the Shabbat programming for their campers. It will be great seeing them implement the programs.

I hope that the Nivonim will bring back home the awareness of how much better their life experiences can be when they work not only for their own happiness, but for the happiness of everyone around them.