A spring break volunteer opportunity changed Kristin Bogner ’21, ’22’s career path.
While studying recreational therapy at UNC Greensboro, Bogner volunteered at Camp Blue Skies, an overnight camp experience for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). She fell in love with its mission. Today, the licensed recreational therapist and certified therapeutic recreation specialist is Camp Blue Skies’ volunteer and camper experience manager.
“Our mission is to help adults 21 and older enhance their lives through life skills, socialization, and recreation,” says Bogner, who became a certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS) and licensed recreational therapist (LRT).
She started at the camp as a volunteer while earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees from UNC Greensboro in what is now the Department of Sport Management & Recreational Therapy (SRT). Now as an employee, Bogner gets more than long-lasting relationships from Camp Blue Skies. It fulfills her call to service.
For Bogner, the reward comes from “seeing the smiles on the campers’ faces.” For some participants, she says, camp is the first time they have stayed overnight away from their loved ones. “They accomplished four nights away and did absolutely amazing,” she says.
One Class Helps Her Find Her Recreational Therapy Career
Bogner went back to school because she wanted to focus on supporting people with special needs. She explored many options, including special education, but she remembers thinking, “I don’t know if I really want to be in a classroom all the time. I feel like there’s more than I can do.”
When she and her husband moved to North Carolina, she applied to UNCG. She found what she was looking after taking one of the introductory recreational therapy courses.
Recreational therapy uses activities and recreation to help people build skills, independence, social connections, and quality of life. The field’s creativity and individualized approach to therapy immediately appealed to her. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is more up my alley,'” says Bogner. “There are so many different avenues this degree can take you down. You don’t have to make up your mind right away.”
Alongside classwork with supportive peers and faculty, she embraced the learning experiences the program offered through volunteering. She interned with Horsepower, a Greensboro-based therapeutic center that frequently partners with UNCG’s SRT students. Bogner helped develop a plan for the nonprofit to make its outdoor spaces more accessible to children with physical disabilities.
Then one of her professors, Dr. Brent Wolfe, told her about Camp Blue Skies.
Putting Recreational Therapy into Practice at Camp Blue Skies
Wolfe, an associate professor of sport management and recreational therapy, is also an LRT and CTRS. He has brought students to Camp Blue Skies since 2011, when he was teaching in Georgia. He now serves on its board of directors.
“The moment I arrived at my first Blue Skies camp, the experience changed my life, and I knew that it could become life-changing for students who volunteer,” he says.
Camp Blue Skies holds sessions in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Since one of the camps took place during her spring break, Bogner decided to check it out. “I absolutely fell in love,” she says. “I started volunteering at every camp that I could go to.”
Based in Charlotte, Camp Blue Skies offers overnight camp experiences for adults with IDD. The organization uses camp facilities during their offseasons, giving participants access to the full camp experience while experts like Bogner support their individual needs.
While recreation and camp go hand in hand, Bogner brings an extra dimension through recreational therapy.
The opportunity to socialize with others is pivotal, and it’s all done in a safe and comfortable environment where fun always drives the group dynamic. “Some campers stay inside all day with parents or in a group home,” she says. “Many of them are used to being by themselves. Then they come to camp for five days with 70 other people. As an adult, you need to learn how to have relationships with others.”
Bogner has seen many friendships take shape at Camp Blue Skies. She says it’s not unusual for campers to stay connected through social media.
Volunteer Becomes a Full-time Employee Leading Others
Through UNCG’s accelerated master’s program, Bogner earned her bachelor’s and master of science in just five years. Along the way, she volunteered at Camp Blue Skies until a position opened in 2024.
Now, Bogner is Camp Blue Skies’ volunteer and camper experience manager. She’s come full circle, using what she learned at UNCG to prepare new volunteers to support participants through each recreational activity. She assigns people to stay overnight in the cabins and encourage campers during their daily activities. She also creates behavior support plans to help campers navigate new social interactions.
Whether it’s their first time horseback riding or canoeing, she gets to see the sparkle in their eyes as they do things that once seemed out of reach. And on the other side, Bogner gets to encourage volunteers to create those memorable moments, just like Wolfe and the other recreational therapy faculty gave her during her time at UNCG.
Wolfe says, “While the camp is designed for the campers, student volunteers gain so much knowledge, experience, and empathy as they live and work with these amazing adults.”
Bogner’s advice to current students is to keep an open mind and jump on opportunities that come their way. “I just learned so much more from our campers. They’ve taught me so much more than I can ever teach them.”
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications
Photography courtesy of Kristin Bogner, Camp Blue Skies
