Quin “Soup” Peterson (they/them) puts the “fun” in “Fun, Friends, and Freethought!” Here’s what this long-time volunteer at Camp Quest NorthWest has to say about their journey….
“My mother discovered CQNW after learning that the child of a high school classmate attended the camp in 2013, prompting her to send me there in 2014. Growing up in a relatively small religious town in Oregon, attending a secular camp in Washington exposed me to many new perspectives and ways of thinking.”
Camp Quest Involvement
“I have exclusively been engaged with NorthWest, where I spent around seven years as a camper and have now been on staff for four years. At camp, I serve as one of the archery instructors, and in the most recent session, I joined the senior staff leadership team. I aspire to visit other Camp Quest locations in the future. I attended my first summit in 2022, which took place in Denver, CO.”
Camp Favorite
“My favorite thing to do at camp is to lean into whatever comedic bit that the campers have planned. In August, I had a group of three campers call themselves the “Costco Crew” and they spent the whole week enlisting people to help prank me (in a positive manner) and I responded in kind by pranking them back and creating a comedic mock incident report to ‘get the Costco Crew in trouble.'”
Least “Camp Quest” thing about me
“I think the least Camp Quest thing about me is my complete lack of Star Trek knowledge. For the entirety of my time with CQNW, I feel like I am missing out on a lot of humor among staff (and sometimes campers) because I have never consumed a piece of Star Trek media in my life. We even had a Star Trek inspired camp year in 2019, and I probably missed out on a lot of the Star Trek related jokes without realizing it.”
Most “Camp Quest” thing about me
“The most Camp Quest thing about me is the fact that I am almost always down to be absolutely silly, and not afraid to make myself look like a fool, especially to the campers. Part of Camp Quest’s mission is to promote ‘Fun, Friends, and Freethought’ and I took the ‘fun’ part of the mission very (un)seriously.”
Friends for Life
“A particular moment that comes to mind is in 2019 when I first experienced the Leadership Track program. While I had two or three core friends through my other years at camp, the LT program gave me a real sense of community. The people that I was an LT with are still some of my closest friends six years later.”
Fostering Inclusion
“I’m most passionate about fostering inclusion at Camp Quest. I want everyone to feel like they can be included in the fun of camp, and I go out of my way to try and encourage campers to come out of their shell at camp (at a pace they’re comfortable at) so they can feel like they are part of the fun too.”
Pride Outside of Camp
“Outside of Camp Quest, I am proud of finally getting my Bachelor’s degree in Public Health (Architeuthis know we need qualified public health people in these trying times) and finally starting to become a ‘real adult’ and building a life for myself.”
At Work and Play
“I come from a small town in Eastern Oregon, about a six hour drive to NorthWest. I work in a surgical pathology lab at a major hospital making sure the right samples are delivered to the right people. I enjoy going on long drives with my friends, a hobby that came about because that is about the only thing to do for fun in Eastern Oregon.”
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