Alumni Spotlight- October 2017

We are very excited to be featuring Abbe Don in our October Alumni Spotlight! Abbe is an incredibly enthusiastic Chippy who has a great deal of Chippewa historical knowledge. She joined us for our first annual Alumni Camp in 2017, and it was wonderful to get to know her and learn about her experiences both in and out of camp. Read below to learn more about Abbe and her life as a Chippewa camper and alum!

What years were you at CRC?
1971 to 1976

Which summer was your favorite and why?
I can’t pinpoint a single favorite summer but I liked being in Wrangler Village better than Colt Village because by then I felt a lot more self-confidence in all aspects of my life but especially all aspects of being at camp. I also really enjoyed the exhilaration that came with mastering skills like horseback riding, water-skiing and sailing.

What is your favorite camp memory?
I loved getting up really early in the morning when Dam Lake looked like glass to practice various stunts for the Chippy Bats show. We would practice before breakfast! And it was so exciting once we really nailed some of the stunts and could perform them consistently.

What was your favorite activity at camp?
It’s a toss up between horse back riding, water skiing and sailing. In my last year at camp, I also really enjoyed camping trips outside of camp and learning to canoe on fast moving rivers.

Were you a Tan or a White?
We’ve got the might, go White! (I was a White)

How do you keep in touch with your camp friends?
I keep in touch with camp friends primarily through Facebook. It’s a great way to catch up with the various women I knew as teenagers, and we are now in our late 40s to early 60s! I also attended my first Alumni Camp this past August. I cherished the opportunity to reconnect with women from “my years” in the 1970s, but I think one of the highlights for me was meeting younger women and making intergenerational Chippy connections. I can’t wait to go back to Alumni Camp in the summer of 2018.

Where do you live now?
I live in San Francisco, California.

What do you do?
Professionally, I’m a designer, storyteller and health care innovator. I’m currently working for a digital health start up focused on improving healthcare for people over 65. I started my career at Apple in 1988 as an intern in the Human Interface Group. I have had a variety of experience design jobs since then including stints at Apple, Hewlett Packard, The Walt Disney Company, IDEO, and athenahealth. Early in my career I also spent time as an interactive media artist, exhibiting in the US, Europe and Australia.
For fun, I like to bicycle especially on West Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg, CA. Anyone planning a trip to the wine country should email me for my itinerary and winery recommendations. I also like to sail on San Francisco Bay through the Olympic Circle Sailing Club at Berkeley, Marina.

What do you miss most about camp?
I miss three related things about camp. The first is the camaraderie and friendship. The second is the complete sense of freedom and joy in a beautiful place. The third is the opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth.

Is there anything else you want to share with your Chippy family?
My mom went to Chippewa, and I’m pretty sure that I’m the first “second generation” camper. I like being part of Chippewa history and continuity.