Satori Camp History
Twenty-eight years ago, an experiment took place on the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Campus in Cheney, WA, USA. Founded by Dr. Bruce Mitchell, a professor at EWU, a summer camp for academically talented and gifted elementary school students was held at the Robert Reid Laboratory School as a part of Eastern Washington’s Teacher Education Program. In the third year of this experimental camp, Michael Cantlon joined Dr. Mitchell, and the camp was given the name “Satori." After a brief stop at the EWU Higher Education Building in downtown Spokane, it was moved to its current location.
Satori Camp, or Senior Satori Camp as it was first called (since it developed as an off-shoot of the successful junior program), held its first session in 1983. This camp was designed for academically talented and gifted junior and senior high school students and set up as a residential camp where campers as young as the seventh grade could gain a university experience. Campers were given three class choices where they could develop active inquiry into areas and fields that they might not have access to in their junior high or senior high school settings. Classes such as Anatomy and Physiology, where students were able to work with cadavers, allowed for a deeper and more thorough level of learning. Since the camp was designed primarily as an enrichment experience, no grades or evaluations are given on the student’s work.
The first camp began with campers primarily from the Eastern Washington area and had twenty students. Since then campers have come from all over the United States and the world. We have alumni from as far away as North Carolina, Alaska, Canada, Japan, and Brazil, to name a few. The camp has grown to an enrolment of about 120 and expanded to offer over twenty-seven different courses.
In response to the camp’s growing size, a Student Advisory Council was established by campers in 1993 to reach out to fellow campers and incorporate them into the feeling of “Satori” as well as help them learn their way around the campus and their classes. This student group has grown into a leadership workshop for campers attending at least their third year of Satori camp. These students come to camp a day early to take part in specialized workshops and prepare for the week of camp.
Another recent development in response to camper input is the Counselor-In-Training (CIT) positions that are available to campers who have graduated from high school but would like to continue their relationship with Satori Camp. The CITs are campers who can return and work for the camp for two years and then have the possibility of becoming regular camp counsellors.
Going into the senior camp’s twenty-eighth year the possibilities that Satori has to offer to academically talented students are greater then ever. Strictly academic classes have grown into a diverse offering aimed at developing a well-rounded individual. Both classes and camp activities have been carefully developed to incorporate both academic and character development in campers.