We love highlighting members of our wonderful global alumni community. This is an opportunity to get to know the people who have attended Camp Rising Sun (CRS), hear the favorite parts of their experience with our program, and see what they’re up to now!

This month, we’re spotlighting Amy Susnea (CRS ‘20, ‘21), who hails from Great Neck, New York! Amy was a camper in our Virtual Camp Rising Sun program in both 2020 and 2021. In the fall of 2021, they, along with other members of their cohorts were able to gather in person at Camp Rising Sun for an alumni retreat. Amy led an instruction on cave art and its significance, creating a space for their peers to discuss and debate important topics.

Read our interview with them below to hear more about their time as a CRS camper and what goals they have for the future!

Name: Amy Susnea

Pronouns: He/They

Hometown: Great Neck, New York

Camp Years: ‘20, ‘21

Education: William A. Shine Great Neck South High School

Can you describe your experience with Camp Rising Sun?

When I first came to Camp Rising Sun, I was a very shy person. I didn’t really talk to anyone when I didn’t have to, and I stayed silent, even during tent talks. Being virtual certainly didn’t help. But as the program continued, I found myself reaching out more, talking more, and enjoying myself more. I made friends with whom I could discuss deeper topics from a variety of perspectives. The CRS program encouraged me to think critically and empathically about many world issues, and more importantly, how to help mitigate them. A large portion of my political framework is directly informed by the lessons taught at Camp. CRS encouraged me to grow into a more confident and caring leader.

How did you find out about CRS and what made you choose to attend this particular program?

My dad found out about the program and suggested I apply. The core appeal of CRS — to create a compassionate, international community, really resonated with me. I believe wholeheartedly in pooling perspectives from around the world in order to create caring and intersectional solutions to problems that plague us all. No other program (that I know of) encourages this to such a degree and with such success.

Before you attended Camp, what do you think you were most nervous about? What were you most excited about?

I was very nervous about not making connections with other campers, since I know myself to be a reserved person, and especially since I did Virtual CRS both years. Meeting new people is always scary, and doubly so when they come from all over the world. But at the same time, meeting new people from all over the world was what I was the most excited about. The opportunity to discuss anything from movies to climate change with people outside of my own little bubble was something I had always hoped for, and Camp brought that hope to fruition.

What is a skill that you feel CRS helped you to develop further or expand on?

Without a shadow of a doubt, Camp helped me develop leadership skills in a way that bolstered my personality. I had always occupied that sort of awkward but ultimately lackluster role of “unwilling leader of a group project,” forced into this position out of necessity. This post always made me uncomfortable though, since I was always hyper-aware of not being too presumptuous or “bossy,” and alienating my peers. And then I went to CRS, and the concept of “servant leadership,” seemed to fit my personality perfectly. Finding out that I could lead by encouraging others, not by forcing them, fundamentally changed my relationship with “leadership” in a positive way. This is a skill that I have taken beyond Camp and even school, and one that I hope to use in the future.

What is the greatest lesson you've learned through your experience with CRS?

I’ve learned to trust myself and my voice more. Camp was the first place where my opinion was ever truly valued, especially by adults. CRS’ environment is very open and constructive, allowing me the space I needed to grow into myself and my views. Before Camp, I had been scared to voice my views for fear of pushback, but Camp taught me that pushback is what makes my views grow. I had the opportunity to finally stretch my ideological legs and have constructive debates with my fellow campers. In this way, CRS not only expanded my beliefs, but also taught me that my beliefs are worth giving.

What is your favorite memory from your time at CRS?

By far my favorite memory was giving my instruction at the retreat this October. I was actually immensely glad that some of the people attending didn’t fully agree with my points, because even though my instruction devolved into a sort of organized chaos, we were able to have an engaging debate throughout. It was incredibly intellectually stimulating to be able to discuss my core beliefs with people engaging in good faith instead of shutting down the argument completely or mindlessly agreeing. Generally, teenagers are not expected or even allowed to fully talk about the state of the world or the future we see for it, so it was genuinely astounding for me to have adults listen to our arguments and—aside from a few helpful interjections—let us debate amongst ourselves.

Amy (right) leading their instruction about cave art and its significance during the Fall Camper Retreat.

Why do you think it's important for young people to learn compassionate leadership skills?

Everyone says that young people are “the leaders of tomorrow,” and countless TikToks and Spotify playlists are earnestly produced calling for a far off “Gen Z revolution,” proving that this idea has been internalized by my generation. And while it’s great that we’ve realized there is something wrong with the world that needs fixing, social media posts are not the way to do it. What will we do beyond the screen? What will we do when tomorrow inevitably comes and we must lead? Without compassion for our fellow human beings, without ways of understanding that leadership is about service, not control, our “Gen Z revolution” will only reproduce what we sought to liberate ourselves from. Leadership without compassion will only lead us further from each other; it is only by caring about the people around us that we can create an equitable and hopeful future.

“Leadership without compassion will only lead us further from each other; it is only by caring about the people around us that we can create an equitable and hopeful future.”

— Amy S.

What is the impact that cross-cultural exchange and meeting people from other cultures can have on people and how we relate to one another?

People tend to congregate among others like them, and while there is comfort in familiar communities, lack of exposure to other cultures and experiences can lead to homogeneity in your opinions. It is important to get out of your bubble and engage with other perspectives, so that you can expand your understanding of the world around you. People in New York, in my case, and even people in the United States in general, although we all have different experiences and views, will never have the perspective of someone living in Malaysia or Spain. Learning from people different from ourselves only bolsters our understanding of the world, and how everything slots together. If we were to only engage with people like us, we would never solve anything, because the problems that plague us are global and intersectional.

What is a cause you're passionate about? How could you use the skills you gained from CRS to make a difference for this cause?

I am passionate about mitigating environmental ecocide and various liberation movements. The method of servant leadership I learned at CRS, alongside in depth discussions of intersectionality have given me deeper insight with regards to my place within these movements, and how I can help my peers bring about a brighter future.

What career or educational goals might you have for the future?

I am planning to get a degree in environmental sciences and go into conservation work in the future. A specific area of interest for me is protecting old growth forests in Romania, since I am Romanian. A majority of old growth forests in Europe are found in Romania, but because of a weak, corrupt government and corporate exploitation—particularly by Ikea, the largest landowner in the country—both legal and illegal logging is decimating these forests. I want to join the fight to save these and other forests, but I’m fearful that there will soon be nothing left to save.

What about personal goals you have?

I want to make a game! Or a book, or a comic, or something. I want to make art and put something of my own into the world.

Can you describe a project you've worked on that you're proud of?

I don’t have any grand projects yet, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made with my art and my writing. My main goal in life—besides the obvious of going to school, being happy, etc.—is to put something of meaning and value into this world. Stories have given me so much throughout my life, and I want to add to that. To think that something I’ve made, a piece of me, is carried in the minds of others makes me very emotional. Someone remembered a piece I wrote in my school’s literary magazine last year, and the fact that something uniquely mine meant something to someone still makes my day.

What is a piece of advice you might offer to a young person who is considering applying to attend CRS?

Just be yourself! I know this is cliched advice, but it’s the most honest advice I can give. I was very worried about whether I would get into the program, and even though I made it to the interview portion of the application process, I ended up being waitlisted. I had been so worried about how I would be perceived by the interviewer that I wasn’t myself, and this inauthenticity hurt me. As long as you are firm in who you are and what you believe, and as long as those beliefs aren’t harmful, there isn’t really anything else you can do.