I have been involved with Camp Sunshine since 2005 and this will be my 16th summer attending Junior Week. You will usually find me behind the camera capturing the moments of camp throughout the year from summer camp to family camp and sibling camp weekends to many of the house programs like the fall festival. As a photographer, I get to move throughout camp and witness many of the special moments from a camper riding a horse for the first time to catching their first fish to earning their green bracelet after learning how to swim to winning a game of Gaga Ball. I also see campers helping each other reach their goal at the climbing wall or connecting over the arts and crafts table when they realize they had the same cancer or received the same type of treatment. These are the things that make Camp Sunshine so special and I feel privileged to witness so many of them each year.

These moments have become even more special since becoming a Physician Assistant with the Brain Tumor Program in the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. I witness what the campers go through to treat their cancer daily, but at camp I love getting to see their personalities shine through while they are having fun and not thinking about their next treatment or scan. As my favor camp shirt says: “Sunshine is the BEST medicine!”. 

- Rachel, current volunteer