Southern Nebraska Register
Summer camp registration is open for events at Camp Kateri Tekakwitha near McCool Junction.
The Catholic camp was created by the Diocese of Lincoln in 1999, to promote opportunities for all the faithful to pursue leadership, character, and spirituality by experiencing God’s peaceful sanctuary in nature. The campground is named after Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, who was beatified in 1980 and canonized in 2012. The first SKY Camp for junior high youth was held at Camp Kateri in the summer of 2001.
Events this summer will be led by a new program director, Jacob Brouillette.
Brouillette graduated from St. Cecilia High School in Hastings and this month, he will graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with a major in construction management and minors in business and entrepreneurship.
Brouillette first attended Camp Kateri as a fifth-grader. He was then a camper every year until high school, and served as a counselor through his high school years. In college, he worked two summers at Camp Wojtyla – named for St. John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla – in Colorado.
That, he said, helped him gain external experiences and outlooks through another successful Catholic summer camp. He is eager to be back at Camp Kateri and make use of his experiences – from his work and his education – to further “development and improvements of the camp for years to come.”
“Camp Kateri offers something unique and amazing for every student in the diocese to experience,” he said. “Your children are able to get away from the business and noise of the world of screens, activities, and expectations. They get to come here and experience authentic childlike joy through the gift of play, community, competition, and deeper conversations of faith.
“God shows us His love and pursuit of us through the beauty of creation,” he continued, “and we want to help the youth see and experience this at camp. God could have made the world very simple, but He made it beautiful as a gift for us to show us His love!”
Brouillette said Camp Kateri has a large staff this year, full of excitement for the summer.
“We will be bringing back some old camp traditions,” he said, such as the “Tekakwitha Games” for junior high ages, “and we are offering a new camp experience this summer.”
“We will be offering an alumni and family camp this summer,” he explained, “where you all get to come back to camp and experience a glimpse of it for yourselves! Whether you went to camp as a camper or have been sending your kids there for years, we invite you to come out and take part in the Camp Kateri experience.”
That event will be held July 1-2.
“One of my favorite aspects of Camp Kateri is that I still remember and have stayed connected with so many friends I met as a camper and counselor,” Brouillette explained. “Even this year in college, I rebuilt my friendship with a fellow camper I was close with my seventh-grade year of camp! You truly make friends that will stay with you a whole life long.
“I am ecstatic for the opportunity to come back to Camp Kateri to help make it as life-changing as possible,” he continued. “I hope to improve the ways that camp teaches youth about the significance of God’s love in the beauty and adventure of nature.”
Father Harlan Waskowiak serves as executive director of the camp, and all staff and counselors are trained before they lead campers in activities, to make sure the young people have a safe, formative, and fulfilling experience at camp.
High school students are still welcome to sign up as counselors for this summer, Brouillette pointed out.
“If you have available time in your schedule this summer, being a counselor is an incredible opportunity to lead others in faith, meet new friends in the diocese, and be a glorified camper, partaking in all of the adventures provided at camp,” he said. “Invite your friends to sign up for camps and be counselors with them. Camps with friends were some of my greatest memories from high school, and where I met so many people before entering into college whom I get to interact with still.”
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Important Camp Dates
-Current Grade in Spring 2024-
SKY CAMPS: (4th - 6th Grade)
Session 1: May 30 -June 1
Session 2: June 2-4
Session3: June 6-8
Session 4: June 9-11
TEKAKWITHA GAMES: (7th - 8th Grade)
Games 1: June 12-15
Games 2: June 16-19
CATHOLIC ADVENTURE CAMP: (3rd - 4th Grade)
Western Adventure: June 20-21
ALUMNI COUNSELOR & FAMILY CAMP: (All Ages)
July 1-2
Our favorite Sky Camps are filling up! Make sure to get a spot soon to make new friends and grow in relationship with Jesus through the sacraments. Tekakwitha Games are back for junior high students, with competitions, faith formation, and adventure in the beauty of creation. Adventure Camp heads back to the Wild West this summer, exploring the great plains and faith.
NEW TO CAMP: Alumni Counselor & Family Camp is a showcase of the joys of camp. Bring your friends and family for two days of fun and the Camp Kateri experience!
Go to the newly designed Camp Kateri website: campkateri.org for registration, added information, and photos.
