Friends of Segowea Leadership Council Biographies
President, Lily Mercogliano: Born and raised in Albany, I came to camp in 1991, when I was seven years old. I first heard about the camp from Meghan Carivan (-Esmond), my babsitter who put me to bed once a week with a story about camp "Wa Wa," and I was eager to join into the mythical world of pirates, pranks, bug juice, and giant turtles swimming in the lake. That first year was the only time I stayed at camp for only two weeks: With the scholarship help of camp director Beth Hodos, I proceeded to spend 6-8 weeks every summer except two for the next 14 years. I learned all my strokes in the c-dock, spent two years as a senior villager, went through the CIT/LIT and junior counselor program before working as the senior village director, CIT director, and program director. I joined the Smith Park Board of Directors in fall 2008. No matter what I was doing at camp, I was always brilliantly happy on Harmon Pond. Camp Segowea made me who I am today; it connected me with some of my closest friends, and introduced me to deeper levels of respect, responsibility, and spirituality within myself.
Vice President/Treasurer, Boo Van Alstyne: My father originally attended Segowea for a number of years in the 1960s and told me all sorts of stories about it as I was growing up. I first saw Segowea in person when I attended a reunion with him in 1989. After spending two weeks there in the summer of 1990, I knew it was a special place that I wanted to come back to. From 1990-2000, I spent every summer there moving up from camper, to senior villager, LIT, CIT, JC, counselor and eventually boy's unit head. I even spent some time as a member of the camp committee. Even though I haven't been officially on staff for awhile, I spend time at Segowea every chance I get, showing up on weekends to lend a hand. Probably the most important thing that happened to me during my time at camp was meeting my beautiful wife, Louise. Being at camp makes me feel at home. I look forward to sending my children and future generations of Van Alstynes there for many years to come.
Secretary, Amy McPheeters: The case for many of us, I was introduced to camp through a close friend from Albany, NY where I grew up. My first summer, the summer of 1995 on the cusp of my ninth birthday, I was assigned to Seneca cabin and began to form my new identity as a Wa Wa. From the very start, Segowea was a home for me. My mom used to joke that her feelings were hurt, what, with me practically jumping out of the car when we finally reached the bottom of the hill to be dropped off at the beginning of the summer and bawling when camp was over and I had to be picked up to go home—the opposite reaction of what a parent of a new and relatively young camper may have expected. Moving up the ranks from camper, to senior villager, to my LIT/CIT years, and eventually to junior and senior staff, my tenure at camp continued until camp tragically closed in 2005. It was the deep bonds between camp friends that sustained me during the school year growing up, and it is those same friendships that have inspired me to remain connected to camp and ensure that it reopens for future generations of Wa Wa’s in 2010.
Vice President of Web Design and Promotion, Louise Van Alstyne: Born and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY, I was often told camp stories by my best friend. She had practically grown up at the camp as her mother served as the nurse there when she was little. One year, I was convinced to go and was able to come for a week due to financial aid as a Leader-in-Training (one step below Counselor-in-Training). That one week was life changing. I went on to work as a counselor for several years and as the Health Supervisor (aka The Nurse) for one year. I have never felt more accepted and loved than I did then and in the following years. After my CIT year I returned to my “real life” more confident and had a much clearer sense of personal responsibility than ever before. The people I have met there have always had a special place in my heart. I have shared apartments and colleges with them, and even married one of them! It is safe to say that my life course has been changed by the Wa Wa experience.
Vice President of Fundraising, Lisa Glebatis Perks: After visiting camp for a day in 1993, I signed up to be a senior villager the following year. I went through the senior village, LIT/CIT program, and then held various jobs at camp including counselor, nanny to Beth’s wonderful kids, and Health Supervisor. My first year as a senior villager is still very vivid. I remember entering school that fall feeling more confident than ever after being challenged to hike for several days on the Appalachian Trail, prepare food over a fire, ration water, and get to know a dozen strangers, all while caked in dirt and not smelling my best. Camp has been a summer respite for me to get away from modern technologies, conveniences, and stresses, just slowing down and spending time with my friends in the woods.
Vice President of Membership, Kristen Hendrickson: When I was young, Beth Hodos (then Koloski) would pop into my grandparents’ house every Christmas. Her mother and my grandparents had been friends for years. One summer she invited my cousin Jacob to come to a camp in the Berkshires called Wa Wa Segowea. When he came back he told me about how great this camp was. The next summer I convinced my parents to let me go for a session. I went to camp in 1992 at 10 years old only knowing Jacob and nervous that I wouldn’t make any friends. That changed quickly. I fell in love instantly, from my first counselor Libby, to the girls in my cabin who would be going to the middle school with me in the fall. I told everyone I met about camp and invited several friends over the years to come and visit or for a couple sessions. I was hooked. I would miss our family vacation to New Jersey every year because I couldn’t just go for one session; I needed to go for three or four. I went through all the ranks from camper, to senior villager, LIT/CIT, counselor, to LIT/CIT director. My last year at camp was 2004. Wa Wa Segowea prepared me for so much in my life. Meeting friends there before entering middle school, a horrible time for any kid, was probably the best. It let me start a new school with a group of friends and the confidence that I could make friends anywhere. Some of my closest friends are friends that I made at camp and being with them always brings a smile to my face. I look forward to the reopening and working there for part of the summer if possible.