This weekend was a very special weekend for Nivonim 1999: their 13th-year reunion! Beginning in 2008, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin has organized these “bar mitzvah” year reunions for young alumni to return to camp, catch up with old friends and connect with the current Ramah experience. This weekend, we hosted 20 alumni and spouses, who were comforted by old camp traditions and welcomed all that had changed since their Nivonim summer. On Friday night, Nivonim 1999 shared their camper memories with Nivonim 2012 and on Sunday morning, they ventured to the ropes course, one of the new additions to camp since 1999.
Jill Pessis Smiley (Nivonim 1999): 
It’s really fun being back. A lot of things about camp have changed, but even though things look different, camp feels exactly the same as it did when we were campers. It’s nice to see that a bunch of the traditions that we had when we were campers are still here, and it’s also neat to see new traditions that have started that we can now look forward to when our kids go here. A lot of my best friends from camp had kids around the same time, and it’s really cool that they will be able to experience camp together when they’re older.
Amanda Lane-Awend (Nivonim 1999): It’s awesome being back and really amazing being with all of my friends. It’s definitely different being a mom now and having my baby with me, but I’m so glad that we got to bring our families together and have a good time. My son will be a camper here one day!
