Emily Sessor

When I was in eighth grade, I heard some girls a few years older than me talking about this camp they had gone to and absolutely loved called iBELIEVE. I didn’t know anything about it, but the minute they started sharing some of the energizers with us, I knew this was a camp that I wanted to attend! For some people, hearing the energizers would turn them away, but for me, it was exactly what I needed to feel safe. So, at the end of my Freshman year when my guidance counselor brought a group of us to the cafeteria to talk about attending this iBELIEVE workshop, I knew that I would do whatever it took to attend. Luckily, I didn’t have to fight anyone for it since we all got the opportunity to go. I was super excited to go since me and my best friend were going together, but the minute we got in the car to head to Wright State for the week, I started freaking out! I was this introverted shy girl who had the same two best friends she’d had since elementary school and I had no clue how I was going to get through a week with these strangers. When we pulled up to the campus, there were people everywhere waving signs and dancing, and I immediately felt welcomed. Once we got to the first group meeting, I knew this was where I belonged. I was still nervous about meeting people, but hearing the silly songs and seeing the staff dance unapologetically made me realize that these were the kinds of people I needed in my life. As the week went on, I learned so much about how to be a better leader, friend, and, most importantly, person. I learned how important communication was and how everybody has different strengths and how to use those strengths to the group’s advantage. I also made friends that I still have to this day! After the week was over, I knew that wasn’t the end of my journey with iBELIEVE. I went back for Workshop 2 & 3, and now I have staffed for two summers and I’m getting ready to staff my third. iBELIEVE has given me the skills I need to succeed in life, no matter what path I take, and for that I am eternally grateful. When I first arrived at my first week of workshop, I was just a shy girl coming out of my freshman year wishing I actually could accomplish whatever I set my mind to. When I left that week, I knew that given the skills I learned and the skills I would learn in the years to come that I could truly be whatever I wanted to be, as long as I let myself be me and I could not be more thankful to iBELIEVE for teaching me that lesson. I don't even want to think about where I would be if not for that week in 2016 that I spent at Wright State University with some of the most uplifting and inspiring people I have ever met in my life. And, lucky for me, I never have to because everything I have learned from iBELIEVE has impacted me and shaped me into the young woman I am today, and will continue to shape into a successful woman, no matter what I choose to do with my life.