I Am A Servant Leader, Not A People Pleaser

How summer camp led me to finding joy in serving others

By Gracie Campbell

26 January 2022

When I was six, I started going to Camp Seafarer. It’s an all-girls maritime summer camp in Arapahoe, NC. At camp I gained many skills like learning how to waterski and sail a sunfish, but I also learned independence, self-confidence, and that it is okay to fail, but most importantly I grew into the leader I am today.

After ten years as a camper, I applied and was accepted as a C.I.L.T, or camper in leadership training. During this summer I lived with thirteen, twelve-year old girls. It was the hardest summer of my life, but it taught me resilience. After this summer I was hired and have now been on staff for four summers having lived with 62 campers during that time frame. The image on the left is of the Marina at Camp Seafarer which is where I have spent so much time over the last 14 summers. At camp you learn how to place others needs before your own because you are being trusted to take care of the most important person in a parent’s life.

During my fourth summer on staff, I was tasked with a different job; I was a part of the camp admin team serving as the head ski instructor for powerboating. This has been my dream job since I was ten. I learned more about working with others in this role than I ever imagined. Camp allowed me the opportunity at 20 to lead a staff of fifteen women. I was tasked with teaching them how to teach waterskiing, how to drive a ski boat, and manage the safety of the hundreds of campers who visited us every day. It is still mind blowing to me that this was my job. This summer I will be returning for my fifth staff year in the same role and have never been more excited! Camp has taught me many things but most of all, I have learned to be a Servant Leader. Being a servant leader means that I put the needs of the team before my own agenda. This makes me an asset to teams I am on.

Other skills I learned at camp:

1. Positivity- even if you have to pull it from your toes

2. Initiative will take you far

3. Everyone has potential

As a freshman when I joined Furman’s campus, I was intimidated by all the students who seemingly had their lives all planned out. In hindsight, I now realize that was not the case but eighteen-year-old me was feeling pressed to find my purpose and worth on campus. Little did I know, I just had to apply my skills I learned at camp, and I would thrive. So that is exactly what I did, I got involved and found places on campus where I serve others which has brought such joy to my life.

Photography by Jeremy Fleming, at Heller’s first annual Rise Against Hunger Event

Heller Service Corps has been my place for the last three years. I have been able to serve the greater Greenville community whether it is for Dance Marathon or serving on our executive board I have been able to serve my team in a way that has allowed us to grow together. Because of the powerful leadership skills, I learned at Camp SeafarerI know that my skills are valued and needed on the Heller team which is exactly what I dreamed of as a freshman.

You are about to see a pattern that I learned at camp, putting yourself out there and getting involved is never a bad thing. Because of this, I joined Furman Kappa Delta’s executive board as the Vice President of Community Service. This opportunity allowed me yet another outlet to be able to serve those around me whether it was serving my sorority sisters or our philanthropies Prevent Child Abuse America and The Julie Valentine Center. This position allowed me the opportunity to grow even more as a servant leader because most of the work I did was behind the scenes, and I was the only one who knew how hard I was working. Although this was a tough pill to swallow at first, it allowed me to draw on my knowledge from camp that initiative will take your far in life because doing a task before you are asked allows you to go the extra mile at any job.

So where will my servant leadership take me in the future? I hope to continue making the world a better place because of my ability to place others needs above my own. Because of this I hope to attend law school with the intention to practice Education Law because I believe every child deserves the opportunity to equity in the classroom. Although I have big dreams for my future I will continue living in the moment and serving the community around me at Furman University.