Episode 102: Season Wrap-Up with Sunshine
Thank you for being part of the Gold Arrow Camp community this year! In this week’s episode, Sunshine wraps up the 2025 GAC Podcast season and gives an overview of what we covered in this season’s interviews.
2025 Podcast Directory
Episode 75: Creating a Happier World with Airborne
Episode 76: Creating a Happier World with Chelster
Episode 77: Creating a Happier World with Bagel
Episode 78: Creating a Happier World with Speed
Episode 79: Creating a Happier World: The GAC Philosophy
Episode 80: The Magic of Camp (Happy Campers Book Excerpt)
Episode 81: Creating a Happier World with Evergreen
Episode 82: Creating a Happier World with Glitter
Episode 83: Creating a Happier World with Woody
Episode 86: Thrivers with Dr. Michele Borba
Episode 87: Experienced Campers Talk about Camp
Episode 88: Razz Talks about Camp
Episode 90: The GAC Experience with Punkie
Episode 91: Getting Outside with Boulder
Episode 92: The Positive Impact of Camp with Echo
Episode 93: Growing at GAC with Vision
Episode 94: Making the World a Better Place with the Friedman Sisters
Episode 95: Junior Counselors on Unplugging to Connect
Episode 96: Magoo Shares About Community and Confidence
Episode 97: Lyric on Growing Up at GAC
Episode 98: Zippy on Growing Independence
Episode 99: Pua on Overcoming Discomfort
Episode 100: Barrow on Juggling for Well-Being
Episode 101: Sneaks on Finding His Confidence and Helping Campers Find Theirs
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Episode 101: Sneaks on Finding His Confidence and Helping Campers Find Theirs
In this episode of the podcast, Brian “Sneaks” Adler talks about growing up at GAC as a camper and counselor. Sneaks talks about how his time at camp helped him figure out who he was, gain his confidence, learn how to be emotionally vulnerable and authentic, develop his leadership skill, and figure out how to thrive as a human. His summers at camp helped Sneaks figure out what he liked and what gave him purpose and fulfillment. Now he loves helping his campers and Junior Counselors grow in the same ways he’s grown at camp.
Related
Episode 95: Junior Counselors on Unplugging to Connect
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Episode 100: Barrow on Juggling for Well-Being
Head Counselor and GAC’s very own Circus Skills Coach tells his GAC story and about the passion for circus skills that he’s shared with our 2024 and 2025 campers and staff. Barrow’s high energy, positivity, and his love of juggling and circus skills have made a huge impact on our community, and we’re so grateful he’s part of our community. Many campers have headed home with their own diablos, practicing new skills they learned from Barrow. Each 2025 Appreciation Campfire featured “Cirque de GAC,” a performance of campers who’ve practiced new circus skills they learned from Barrow. Talk about trying something new!
We talk about some of the many positive benefits of juggling, including reduced stress and anxiety and improved perseverance and confidence.
According to Google:
Diabolo juggling provides a wide array of benefits, from enhancing hand-eye coordination and concentration to boosting confidence and promoting social interaction. The practice can be mentally engaging, physically challenging, and a source of personal expression.
- Improves focus and concentration: Diabolo requires intense and continuous focus to keep the prop spinning and balanced. This is a form of mindfulness that can help with concentration in other areas of life.
- Sharpens reflexes and coordination: To maintain the diabolo’s spin and execute tricks, your eyes must track the diabolo while your hands manipulate the sticks and string. This process improves hand-eye coordination and quickens reflexes.
- Boosts brain health: Learning a complex bilateral motor skill like juggling encourages neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to form new neural connections. This can improve brain health and function throughout a person’s life.
- Increases perseverance: Mastering a new trick is a process of trial and error that teaches patience and persistence. Each failure offers a chance to refine your technique, and the eventual success provides a rewarding sense of accomplishment.
- Reduces stress: The rhythmic and meditative nature of diabolo can provide a healthy distraction from daily stress and anxiety.
- Develops fine and gross motor skills: The delicate, precise movements of the sticks train fine motor skills, while the larger motions involved in tossing and catching the diabolo work gross motor skills.
- Offers a low-impact workout: Diabolo is a physical activity that gets you up and moving, which is healthier than remaining sedentary. Higher-level tricks involving multiple diabolos or acrobatics provide a more athletic challenge.
- Enhances physical expression: As you become more proficient, you can develop your own style and create artistic routines. The diabolo becomes a medium for physical and emotional expression, akin to a form of visual music.
- Builds confidence and self-esteem: Every new trick you master gives you a tangible sense of achievement, which builds confidence and a positive self-image. This reinforces that you are capable of learning and growing.
- Fosters a sense of community: The diabolo community is largely non-competitive and supportive. Sharing knowledge, practicing with friends, and attending juggling clubs or conventions can be a great way to make new connections and bond with others.
- Inspires creativity: From inventing a new trick to choreographing a performance, diabolo encourages creative exploration. Its open-ended nature means there is no limit to what you can learn and create.
Resources/Related
5 Surprising Benefits of Learning to Juggle and Why it Might Improve Your State of Mind
Beyond the Balls: Unlocking the Surprising Benefits of Juggling
Juggling: A Fun Way to Boost Focus and Beat Anxiety
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Episode 99: Pua on Overcoming Discomfort
Second year staff member, Natalia “Pua” Elias Rodriguez, talks about coming to Gold Arrow Camp from Mexico, not knowing anyone else who worked here. Pua had a rough start and talks about her adjustment and the fun, friends, and growth she’s experienced at GAC. Pua has worked as a horseback riding activity counselor for the past two summers.
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Episode 93: Growing at GAC with Vision
Join Sunshine’s conversation with Luke “Vision” Beshoff, the Rock Climbing and Ropes Course Program Head this summer. Vision started as a camper at GAC in 2012 and has now been on staff for four summers. Vision is incredibly positive and enthusiastic about camp and his experiences here. He describes in detail the activities that fall under the “Rocks and Ropes” category here at camp, and how each of them offers amazing opportunities for campers and staff to get outside their comfort zones and grow! Vision also shares how he’s started appreciating different aspects of camp as he’s gotten older.
Related
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Episode 92: The Positive Impact of Camp with Echo
Cady “Echo” Latt shares her GAC story, which started back in 2008 when she attended a one week “Nuggets” program after she had finished Kindergarten. After 10 years as a camper, Echo joined as a Junior Counselor. She’s now in her 5th year on staff. This year, Echo joins Sneaks in heading up our Junior Counselor Program.
In this longer conversation than our typical podcast chat, Echo and Sunshine talk about the benefits of camp, how camp has shaped her, and how much teens especially benefit from time at camp.
Related
Five Reasons Every Teen Should Go To Summer Camp
Dancing and the Brain (Harvard Medical School)
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Episode 91: Getting Outside with Boulder
Fifth year camp staff member and 2025 Head Counselor, Boulder, talks about his experience as a camper at GAC and his love of backpacking and being outdoors that has developed as a result of his time at camp. Since one of our GAC core values is “Connecting with Nature,” it’s great to hear about the impact GAC has had on Boulder’s love of the outdoors.
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Episode 90: The GAC Experience with Punkie
Paige “Punkie” McKee reflects on her five years as a camper and five years (including this summer) on staff at Gold Arrow Camp. She reflects on the impact of her camp experiences and how the independence and adventure she experienced at camp has helped her pursue an equally adventurous adulthood. This summer, Punkie is leading the Media Team (photographers and videographer). We talk about some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into posting all those great photos parents get to see while their camper is at GAC!
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Episode 89: WOWs with Bravo
Writing “WOW”s, or positive notes and affirmations, is a habit we practice daily at Gold Arrow Camp. In this episode, Sunshine and Bravo talk about how we do WOWs, why we do WOWs, the magic relationship ratio, and the power of positive words!
Give meaningful WOWs by using this formula: Person’s Name + Quality + Evidence (what they did and/or how it made you feel).
Resources/Related
The Magic Relationship Ratio, John Gottman (article)
The Magic Relationship Ratio, Sunshine Parenting (video)
Filling Buckets: Our 2019 Theme (article)
The Most Meaningful Words You’ll Say this Summer, Camping Magazine (article)
3 Reasons to Give Your Kid a “WOW” Today, Sunshine Parenting (article)
The Power of Positive Words, Sunshine Parenting (article)
Catch them Doing the Right Thing (article)
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Episode 88: Razz Talks about Camp
Sunshine talks with experienced Gold Arrow Camp camper and counselor, Lucy ‘Razz” Mahlmeister, in this episode of the podcast. Razz talks about her time at GAC, which started in 2010 when she was an eight-year-old first time camper. Razz spent eight years as a camper, one year as a Junior Counselor, and has now been on staff for five years, primarily as a watersports activity counselor, teaching campers kneeboarding, wakeboarding, waterskiing, and wakesurfing.
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