“When my parents told me about SuperCamp and how my Granduncle Bob was such a huge supporter of it, I wasn’t sure what to think,” said Samantha Hochmuth. “They said he sent his grandchildren and other people in his life because he believed it helped them so much, but I didn’t know what it was and honestly wasn’t excited to go,” she said. “I was only excited to go because my family was making a vacation out of it.”

Sammy, as she is called, traveled to California from Wisconsin, and even though she was reluctant to go, she decided to change her attitude and go with an open mind—and she is so glad she did. After attending Quantum U, SuperCamp’s college-age program, she recalls not only feeling more prepared to attend college and succeed in that kind of academic setting, she also felt more confident and stronger within herself. One of the activities that stood out for her was “board breaking,” where students break through a board that represents a barrier to their goal that is written on the other side of the board. “There is no feeling like breaking through that “barrier” with your hand, and how empowered you feel afterward,” she said as she recalled the activity.

Sammy remembers leaving SuperCamp with a heightened self-confidence, new friends, and much more . . . “I felt like I got my life back.” She also noted that her brother, Hunter, who went to SuperCamp the week after Sammy thanks to Bob and Mary Wadsworth, grew in confidence. Sammy attended his closing celebration and recalled being brought to tears because she could see how much more confident and empowered he had become as well. “It was amazing to see his transformation,” Sammy said. “I’ve never felt closer to my brother and our relationship changed at that point.” Sammy and Hunter’s mother, Nancy, believes one of the biggest things for both of them was that that after SuperCamp they felt safe to be themselves.

Sammy had wanted to return to SuperCamp, however at that point she was too old for the program. She particularly wanted to go back and pay more attention to the teaching methods as she planned to become a teacher. Sammy has now graduated from college and is currently studying for her MBA at McKendree University where she is also a certified athletic trainer and graduate assistant.

To this day Sammy still reads the journal that she kept during her week at SuperCamp and refers to it often when she needs a reminder of that empowerment she felt. “I never really got to tell my Uncle Bob how I feel this camp saved my life,” Sammy said. “I truly believe anyone could go to SuperCamp and benefit from it. I am so lucky I had Uncle Bob in my life.”

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Hunter Hochmuth was one of the many children the Wadsworth family sent to SuperCamp, including his sister Samantha. Hunter benefitted so much the first time he attended SuperCamp, Senior Forum at Stanford University in 2013, that he attended two more times—Loyola U in Chicago in 2015 and the Leadership course at California State University in San Marcos in 2016.

It all began when Bob Wadsworth reconnected with Hunter’s family when he was in eighth grade. Hunter’s father met Bob at a family function and Bob was so excited about the results of SuperCamp that he offered to send both Hunter and his sister Samantha that following summer.

The first camp Hunter attended was the summer before his freshman year of high school. He remembers feeling younger than the other campers, but it didn’t bother him too much. It didn’t take long for him to start feeling more comfortable, as he recalls how easy it was for him to become close to his team members in a very short time.

When Hunter reflected on his experience during that first SuperCamp session, he recalled how much he learned academically, and attributed his success in school to the techniques he learned at SuperCamp.

The second session he attended was particularly special for him personally. Since he was returning as an experienced camper who had already attended once, he felt a sense of leadership in his team. He describes how he easily sensed what the other campers felt and wanted to facilitate their learning. He felt compelled to help them gain the most from their experience and stepped in to help them feel more at home.

It was the lifestyle skills that really benefited Hunter the most from his second SuperCamp experience. The 8 Keys of Excellence were especially meaningful to him and he still has them on his bedroom wall. He even wore the key students receive at graduation on a chain necklace during his freshman year of high school as a reminder.

Hunter talked about his experience of going on stage in front of all the other students and staff during the third night of camp and how that helped him become more confident about speaking in front of others. After that night one of the facilitators asked him to speak at the closing celebration from a second-year participant’s perspective, and he agreed. His Uncle Bob and several other family members and friends attended that closing celebration so that made it extra special. “I felt so happy and confident in that moment,” Hunter said. “I know how strongly my Uncle Bob felt about SuperCamp, so having him there seeing me speak made it amazing.”

A particularly strong memory from Hunter’s SuperCamp experience was the personal insights he gained during an evening toward the end of the session during the “mask” activity. During this activity, students go through a process where they look inside at the “masks” they wear in various situations. Students ask themselves Do I act one way for the purpose of belonging to a particular group? Is it the best version of me?

Students have an experience during the event of what it’s like to be their most authentic self, and the reactions from others when they are. For Hunter, this experience was a defining moment of his teenage years and in his life. He said he thinks about that night often and the impact it had on him, as well as the close connections he made with his team as a result.

During his third SuperCamp session, Hunter recalls that there were a lot of participants in the same place in their lives. He recalls that there wasn’t any apprehension among the students about being around strangers at the opening session. “Every single student was accepting and open,” he said. “It was a great way to finish out my years at SuperCamp.”

After graduating from high school, Hunter went on to attend the University of Madison, Wisconsin, School of Business where he is currently studying and plans to build a career in accounting.

“I’ll always be thankful that Uncle Bob introduced me to SuperCamp and gave me the opportunity to experience the spectacular things that I did,” Hunter said. “It completely changed me for the better. Imagining my life without SuperCamp is impossible.”

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Jake Castellanos, Bob and Mary Wadsworth’s grandson, had the misfortune of losing his parents at a young age and was raised by his other (paternal) grandparents. He grew up without many other kids around and always felt a sense of not being accepted by others. In his teen years, Bob and Mary realized that Jake needed help and stepped in. They opened their home to him and then offered to send him to SuperCamp.

Jake recalls feeling reluctant to go but after attending said, “I never wanted to NOT come back. I wanted to go every year,” he said. And he did. He ended up attending SuperCamp four times including the Junior Forum at Stanford in 2005, Senior Forum at Stanford in 2006, Senior Forum Leadership Team at Stanford in 2007, and the Leadership Forum in Colorado in 2008.

“I changed so much,” he said. “I went from having zero confidence to feeling like a completely different person.” Jake said he remembers just about everything about each of the SuperCamp sessions he attended . . . the look of the rooms, the environment, the people, even the plants. And he recalls one of his favorite memories—playing the cup jumping game in the cafeteria! He also remembers how his academic performance improved and how he experienced a significant increase in the number of words per minute he could read.

Jake also still remembers the names of his team leaders who meant so much to him and is still in touch with many of the students he went to camp with. He even dated one of his fellow students for several years and still talks about SuperCamp today to anyone he thinks might benefit from it. Jake recalls that two of the 8 Keys of Excellence (principles to live by) were most helpful to him: “This Is It!” about making the most of every moment, and “Integrity” about being honest with yourself.

Jake attributes his strong communication skills, his ability to talk and listen to others and talk to groups with ease, as well as his integrity, to what he gained from attending SuperCamp. He considered becoming a team leader but decided to join the Navy instead and credits his success in the Navy to what he learned while attending SuperCamp. He’s now out of the military after traveling to 37 countries, including living in Japan for three and a half years.

When Jake returned to the States, he served as a Close-In Weapons System Instructor with the U.S. Navy in Virginia Beach and is currently attending Strayer University working toward his degree in Business Administration and Social Media Marketing. He is also working on starting his own social media marketing company called “Everybody in Media,” named after the Chicago Cubs 2017 season slogan, “Everybody In.” In addition, Jake is part of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Society for Collegiate Leadership & Achievement, and Golden Key International Honor Society.

When Jake reflected on his experiences at SuperCamp and how much it meant to him that Bob and Mary were there for him, he said, “Bob was one of the most giving, honest, and caring people in the world.” “He even flew from Indiana to attend my graduation once. When he passed away, I had the idea of having donations made in his honor so other children could attend SuperCamp. I know Bob would have wanted that,” he said.

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“I never knew you could be ‘like a father’ to so many people.”

“He was incredibly generous with his time, love, and finding ways to create interesting experiences. He was always there if you needed support or advice. In short, he was my hero.”

Bob (Robert) Wadsworth

These are just a few sentiments expressed when Bob (Robert) Wadsworth, a long-standing supporter of SuperCamp, passed away earlier this year. Bob and Mary, his wife of 59 years, first became supporters and advocates of SuperCamp after sending their daughter Whitney when she was a teenager in high school. Whitney had such a positive experience that they ended up sending more than 16 children, including extended family members, children of employees, and friends of their children and grandchildren.

So many students, including one in this photo, attended SuperCamp
through the generosity of Bob and Mary Wadsworth.

Mary with grandson Jake and his
cousin at a SuperCamp graduation

In their time of sending children to SuperCamp, Mary and Bob attended nearly a dozen graduation ceremonies. They even brought extended family members and friends because they were such big advocates for SuperCamp and wanted to show others just how much the camps benefited the children. At one graduation, they had a group of ten people join them. “I loved attending the graduation ceremonies,” said Mary. “They were always so inspiring. You walked out of there with a smile on your face because you could clearly see just how excited the children were about their experiences,” said Mary.

SuperCamp helps children who are struggling with issues that a lot of children face, such as going to a new school or needing help to improve their scholastic abilities. “SuperCamp doesn’t use just one approach,” said Mary. “It teaches kids that there are more ways to be successful and many ways to solve problems.”

Mary explained that her daughter Whitney, who made some of her best friends at SuperCamp, didn’t initially believe she got a lot out of the program scholastically. She later reported that she was able to utilize a tool she learned at SuperCamp to ace a test while attending Purdue University. SuperCamp also broadens children’s horizons by exposing them to other children with different backgrounds and life experiences.

“The children get a sense of reality that they don’t get if they don’t have the opportunity to change their environment,” Mary continued. “Each child has their own strengths and weaknesses and what they must do is find their own strengths. It’s a message that gets implanted by SuperCamp, that they too can be successful,” Mary added.

All the children that Bob and Mary sent to SuperCamp have unique success stories. After Whitney attended, she excelled in dance and later went on to join the dance team at Purdue University. She’s now the mother of a nine-year-old and six-year-old and lives in Indiana with her husband Johnathan where they jointly run the family business that Bob and Mary started more than three decades ago. Their company, Innovation Energy, is a leader in delivering high-performance reflective insulation for energy conservation. Whitney has also worked as a personal trainer and life coach.

Bob and Mary’s niece Kinsey attended SuperCamp three times and is now working on a program to illustrate how Alzheimer’s can be delayed or lessened by learning multiple languages. Their grand-niece Alexandra Kissel is doing exceedingly well taking pre-med courses at Ole Miss. Their granddaughter Mallory Mellon graduated from the University of Wisconsin, and Cooper Lohr, a friend of their grandson, is now attending the University of America in Washington D.C. and is working as an intern.

The couple also sent their grandson Jake Castellanos to SuperCamp. In fact, Jake went four times! He went to Junior Forum, Senior Forum, and Senior Forum Leadership Team at Stanford in California, then to Leadership Forum in Colorado. Jake was taken in by Mary and Bob when he was a teenager. He had a challenging childhood growing up without much support and struggled with feeling accepted by others. Jake was initially reluctant to attend SuperCamp but ended up loving it. “I never wanted to NOT go back,” Jake said. “I went from having zero confidence to growing into a much more confident person. I wanted to go every year.”

Jake with some of his SuperCamp team

Jake said he remembers just about everything from each of the SuperCamps he attended including the look of the rooms, the environment, the people and playing a cup game in the cafeteria. He even remembered the names of his team leaders who meant so much to him, and is still in touch with many of the students he went to camp with. Although he wanted to become a team leader, he ended up joining the Navy and says his success in the Navy was a result of what he learned at SuperCamp.

Jake recalled the “This Is It! Key,” which teaches students how to make the most of every moment, and attributes his strong communication skills, integrity, ability to talk and listen to others, and talk to groups with ease, to what he gained from attending SuperCamp. He’s now out of the military after serving in 37 countries, including living in Japan, and is currently attending Strayer University and running a security company.

Sammy (second from left) with team members

Bob and Mary’s niece Samantha Hochmuth believes that SuperCamp helped her feel more prepared for college and gain confidence in herself. “I remember leaving the camp with new friends, and a new self-confidence,” Sammy said. Sammy’s brother Hunter also attended the week after Sammy and she remembers crying when she saw how much more confident and empowered her brother had become.

“Seeing how much Hunter benefited from SuperCamp showed me how this camp helps others,” Sammy said. She added, “I never really got to tell my uncle Bob how I feel this camp saved my life. I am lucky I had an uncle like him.”

Hunter (third from right) with team members

Hunter attended SuperCamp three times including Senior Forum at Stanford in California and Loyola in Chicago, and Leadership Forum at Cal State University in San Marcos, California. “I remember my family reconnected with Uncle Bob when I was in eighth grade and offered to send both Sammy and me to camp the next summer,” said Hunter. “Imagining my life without SuperCamp is impossible. I’ll always be thankful for Uncle Bob giving me the opportunity to experience the spectacular things that I did at SuperCamp,” Hunter continued. Both Sammy and Hunter are currently studying at the University of Wisconsin. Hunter is pursuing a career in public accounting and Sammy is a teacher.

Bob was a special man who meant a lot to many people. As a twin, Bob valued extended family relationships, and always loved bringing together family, friends and strangers to create lifelong bonds. Both he and Mary provided a sense of home to all who became part of their lives and felt a personal responsibility to help children excel in life.

Mary and Bob

Bob and Mary also felt strongly about creating a better world with a lifelong commitment to the environment through their green energy company. Perhaps it was these ideals that motivated them to improve the lives of so many children, and ultimately leave a legacy of productive, successful, contributing members of society.

After Bob passed away, Mary decided the best way to honor him was for people to make donations to the charity of their choice or to a special fund set up in Robert’s memory. The “Robert Wadsworth SuperCamp Scholarship Fund” was created so still more children can attend SuperCamp in Bob’s name, and Bob’s family will choose the children who will attend in the years to come. Because Bob believed in the benefits of SuperCamp and put so much of his time and resources into sending so many children, Mary knew this would be something he would be proud of.

“With SuperCamp now in its 38th year, Bob has been part of it for nearly half its time. He and the children he sponsored have become like family,” said Bobbi DePorter, co-founder and president of Quantum Learning Network. “It’s an honor to have had the opportunity to know Bob and Mary and help them change and improve the lives of so many children. Their contributions will not be forgotten.”

Written by Laura Stadler

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