Taylor Conger

University of Northern Iowa

tconger@uni.edu

Camp Adventure Taking Over the World

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa It is 11:30 in the morning and a typical Wednesday in the Camp Adventure
office. Kori Lekar sits at her L-shaped desk in her private office answering calls and emails. Her
large desk is covered with organized paper piles, allowing small splashes of gray wood showing
through between each neatly stacked pile. Lekar talks excitedly about her recent summer trip
to central Europe and her supervisory duties while abroad.
Lekar is the staff development coordinator for the University of Northern Iowas Camp
Adventure headquarters. Lekar worked her way to top of the Camp Adventure totem pole.
First I was a counselor, then a director, project coordinator, then project director. Lekar
became the overall top supervisor for students and was fortunate enough to work as a
graduate student in the Camp Adventure office. Our full time staff development coordinator
was leaving, so the timing was right for me, said Lekar. She recently took on the duties of
supervising summer, spring, and fall internships instead of only the
summer programs. Lekars past three and a half years as the staff
development coordinator has included the supervisory duties of all
graduate and undergraduate students in the office.
Staff development coordinators spend months at a time out of the
office, supervising students at the different sties all over the world.
Lekars contract includes summer supervision, and she talks very quickly
with excitement about her recent supervisory duties in Europe. I was
the project director in Europe for 20 different sites and probably 60
different programs. I was responsible for about 200 students. Lekar
mostly traveled around Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands because those countries have
sites that are most heavily populated. I am in contact with supervisors and project
coordinators about how things are going. I provide support to them and the students. There is
always something going on everywhere. I also work with our military contract partners, our
POCs (point of contacts), discussing issues regarding things that need changed such as staffing
and location changes.
Time management is often difficult for Lekar, because she is working with so many different
people from sites in different countries. Lekar has to do a lot of planning and also has to be a
good communicator because a lot is going on at one time. Emergencies can be difficult because
different sites might need assistance at the same time.

Lekar, relaxing, swiveled in her chair and smiles as she talks about her favorite part of the job.
Simply put, she says, I like working with college students. Not the answer many would expect
from a job that includes free travels to basically anywhere in the world. I like to think I am
good at building relationships and helping them grow. We mostly work with military children,
but our main customer is the students. They learn skills and they become worldly. The Camp
Adventure program helps students to grow through cultural experiences, new friendships,
knowledge, and teaching.
Lekar has traveled to 17 different countries during her time with Camp Adventure. She has
traveled to Germany 13 times. Lekar passionately speaks about the lessons Camp Adventure
has taught her. I have learned how to communicate, not just because they speak different
languages, but because I learn how to work with people who are different than me. I learn how
to get along with people who are different than me; People who have different personalities.
Catch the Magic!