Hi, my name is Camelyn Hernandez, but most call me Cami. Learn how the "Y" (YMCA) changed my life!

In 2012 I got my first job at a yogurt shop most may know called Menchies. It was a tedious job, but the people I worked with always made it a pleasure. However, after a year and a half, I quit and applied to the YMCA my senior year, assuming it would be a better-paying job and bring more challenges. Boy, was I wrong about the pay and right about the challenges!

Later that year (2013), I graduated high school and started my summer position at the YMCA in Virginia Key Beach (VKB) in Biscayne bay, Miami, FL. This was my first time working hands-on with children in an open-range environment and different atmosphere, but also with an age group most said would be challenging, teens.

I won't lie; I was intimidated by the group and afraid of being unable to handle certain situations because I worked with younger students throughout the school year. It was my first year working a summer camp which is an entirely different job altogether; now add teens, the beach, and raging growing young adults! Scary right? Wrong; indeed one of the most humbling experiences thus far.

The Y taught me so much about myself; it taught me patience, humbled me, showed me diversity, changed my career path, it gave me strength and courage.