--- title: How I Traded Summer Camp For... description: I wanted a summer that was productive, flexible, self-driven, and inspiring for me; gone were the days of simply sending me to camp. image: https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hubfs/July%20Blog.png --- [![cc-logo-black-1](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cc-logo-black-1.png?width=173&height=57&name=cc-logo-black-1.png "cc-logo-black-1")](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/) Open main menu Close main menu [advice for parents](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/advice-for-parents) [student confidence](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/student-confidence) [experiential learning](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/experiential-learning) [project-based learning](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/project-based-learning) [student journey](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/student-journey) [passion journey](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/passion-journey) [student spotlight](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/student-spotlight) [parenting inspiration](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/parenting-inspiration) [community](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/community) # How I Traded Summer Camp For... [Laila Larkin](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/author/laila-larkin) [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/how-i-traded-summer-camp-for) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/how-i-traded-summer-camp-for) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/how-i-traded-summer-camp-for) ![](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hubfs/July%20Blog.png) My mom was inspired to create a summer that was productive, flexible, self-driven, and inspiring for me; gone were the days of simply sending me to summer camp. She attended a session with other parents, walking away feeling like a lightbulb went off; she could finally satisfy my desire to have an unstructured summer alongside her desire for me to walk away with a tangible, personal accomplishment. From then on came a personalized experience; the mentor matchmaking process felt like speaking to a concierge, someone who would take an interest in who I was before providing everything Curious Cardinals had to offer. My existing interests became the basis for matches with mentors just as passionate as me; [Matthew, a History and Political Science major](https://app.curiouscardinals.com/mentors/matthew-jennings) took a deep dive into our justice system with me, while [Fara, a non-profit founder herself](https://app.curiouscardinals.com/mentors/fara-bakare), helped me formulate a pitch for my own 501(c)(3) organization.  ![Screen Shot 2023-07-05 at 14.38.16](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-05%20at%2014.38.16.png?width=261&height=350&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-07-05%20at%2014.38.16.png) Video: Hear from Laila as she talks about her Curious Cardinals experience! Although the 1:1 engagements may appear similar to tutoring sessions, Curious Cardinals offers far more than school-affiliated topics ever could. Even as a resource to amplify academic growth, one’s experience with the program would go beyond simply reinforcing new concepts. With both of my mentors existed a combination of curriculum and freeform navigation, allowing not only for the discovery of new topics but unmatched depth in conversation. Neither of my mentors were concerned about going “off-script”; unanticipated conversations about current Supreme Court cases on the docket or a new, inspiring TED Talk allowed us to share raw ideas, learning from each other as students ourselves. I consistently looked forward to talking to my mentors each week, knowing that with every engaging, natural, passionate meeting I would leave even more curious than before. ![image\_6487327 (2) Large](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image_6487327%20(2)%20Large.png?width=400&height=446&name=image_6487327%20(2)%20Large.png) Photo: Laila and her mock-trial team at the NYC semi-finals Although the engagements were only scheduled in hour-long blocks, I found myself spending the remainder of my free time that day taking deeper dives into the conversations that had set off fireworks in my head. Between all of this, I had more freedom in my summer than ever, scheduling my mentoring sessions around social time, travel, and any other obligations that would have made a rigid schedule unsustainable.  As I returned to school in the Fall my purpose within extracurricular activities such as Mock Trial and Web Design deepened. I blossomed with a newfound perspective, applying what I learned about America’s justice system to my interpretation of our team’s case and utilizing my recent understanding of marketing to curate a website for my organization from scratch.  ![image\_123986672 (4)](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image_123986672%20(4).jpeg?width=300&height=300&name=image_123986672%20(4).jpeg) Photo: Logo designed by Laila with the help of a Graphic Design mentor from Stanford At the beginning of my summer, I had no idea what “Curious Cardinals” was. Looking back, I see that Curious Cardinals enables anyone to make summer (and beyond) whatever they want it to be.   ![stay\_curious\_cursive](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/stay_curious_cursive.png?width=424&height=95&name=stay_curious_cursive.png)     \- Laila   ### Leave a Comment ## Related Articles [![](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hubfs/shakespeare%20%26%20finding%20your%20why%20blog%20image.png)](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/shakespeare-and-finding-your-students-why) [inspiring-tutors](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/inspiring-tutors) [student confidence](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/student-confidence) [mentor](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/mentor) [exploring interests](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/exploring-interests) [newsletter](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/newsletter) [growth](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/growth) [K-12](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/k-12) [advice for students](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/advice-for-students) [fostering learning](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/fostering-learning) ### [Shakespeare and Finding Your Student's Why](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/shakespeare-and-finding-your-students-why) #### To learn or not to learn...*what* is the question?🤔 If your student seems uninterested in their studies, or lacking a clear sense of purpose, the reason may surprise you! ![CC Team](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e) [CC Team](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/author/cc-team) [Read More](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/shakespeare-and-finding-your-students-why) [![](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/hubfs/CC%20on%20Today%20Show.png)](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/curious-cardinals-on-the-today-show) [partnerships](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/partnerships) [community](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/community) [behind the scenes](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/behind-the-scenes) [representation](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/tag/representation) ### [Curious Cardinals on The TODAY Show!](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/curious-cardinals-on-the-today-show) ![CC Team](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e) [CC Team](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/author/cc-team) [Read More](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/curious-cardinals-on-the-today-show) - [HOME](https://curiouscardinals.com/) - [MENTORS](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/mentors) - [PROGRAMS](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/programs) - [BECOME A MENTOR](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/become-a-mentor) - [COMMUNITY](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/community) - [ABOUT US](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/about) - [FINANCIAL AID](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/financial-aid) - [DONATE](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/donate) - [BLOG](https://blog.curiouscardinals.com/) - [CAREERS](https://jobs.lever.co/CuriousCardinals) - [TERMS & CONDITIONS](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/terms-and-conditions) - [PRIVACY POLICY](https://www.curiouscardinals.com/privacy-policy) - [HELP CENTER](https://intercom.help/curious-cardinals/en/) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/curiouscardinals/) [Follow us on Twitter](https://www.instagram.com/curiouscardinals/)