We are excited to introduce you to our 2022 Summer Camp Leadership team and amazing Camp Staff!
Their initiative, wisdom, talent, and enthusiasm for camp ministry will lead us into the best week of the summer!
STEVEN OLAN, Camp Director
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Steven “Nash” Olan started at Wayzata Community Church as the Director of Middle School Ministry in August. However, when the role of Camp Director came open, he jumped at the opportunity to serve in this area. Nash has always been drawn to camp ministries in a variety of ways. Whether serving on program staff at sleep-away camps, or his summers with Sportslife Camp doing VBS for various churches in the Midwest, Camp has always called to Steven.
Now, to be part of WCC—a vibrant faith community—and the opportunity to lead a ministry area that has meant so much to students and leaders in our church is such an honor! As we move forward, we hope to strike a balance of holding true to what has made WCC’s camp great as well as finding new ways to engage our students and grow faith through our time together! Some of the most important things for our camp is to be a place of safety and support for our students, both spiritually and physically!
KATELYN PALASEK, Head Cabin Leader, Inclusion Coordinator
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Katelyn (she/her) recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where she studied Special Education with a minor in Adapted Fitness. Her plan for next year is to teach at Wayzata Central Middle School where she is excited to give back to her home district. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, attempting to train her new puppy, drinking coffee, and all things outdoors. This summer, she is excited to help create an inclusive camp environment for all campers as well as build relationships with new campers and reconnect with returners!
EMILY DYRDAHL, PROGRAM DIRECTOR
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Emily (she/her) recently graduated from Luther College with a degree in Psychology and Management and hopes to go into marketing. Emily enjoys listening to music, drinking coffee, and crocheting. This year, she is very excited to help create a fun summer that the campers will never forget!
INGRID CHRISTOPHERSON, Staff Director
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Ingrid (she/her) graduated this May from Luther College with a degree in Psychology and Social Welfare and will begin graduate school at the University of Minnesota in the fall! Her goals for the future include becoming a school psychologist as well as a dog mom. Some of Ingrid’s favorite things include going on hikes, listening to Taylor Swift, knitting, and eating chocolate-covered pretzels. She is most looking forward to singing camp songs and dancing with campers all summer long!
ADDIE GILL, Work Crew Director
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Addie (she/her) graduated in May from The University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Microbiology and Spanish and a minor in Health and the Humanities. In the future, she hopes to attend school to become a Physician’s Assistant. In her free time, Addie enjoys playing piano and biking. In the future she hopes to travel more and is very excited to join the camp leadership team this summer!
ATTICUS HODGES, Head Cabin Leader
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Atticus (he/him) loves to watch films, read books, go on long outdoor trips, and rewatching Avatar and Gravity Falls to distract him from all his math courses. Atticus just graduated from the University of Minnesota- Duluth with a degree in both Statistics and English. He hopes to one day make his own feature film, make positive impacts on people throughout his career, and travel. Atticus is looking forward to practicing servant leadership through serving others at camp.
ABBY MAGNUSSON, Cabin Leader and Program Team
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This will be Abby’s second year as a Cabin Leader and her first year on Program Team! She just finished her sophomore year at Indiana University and will be transferring to the University of Minnesota to resume her education in Criminal Justice and History. Her goal is to study abroad during college and attend graduate school or law school! In her freetime, Abby loves to make art, crochet, read, play video games, listen to her vinyls, go outdoors, and hang out with friends. I’m most looking forward to being on Program Team for the first time and getting to spend time with all her awesome campers!
ANDREW ESTREM, Cabin Leader
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Andrew John Estrem is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. He loves watching the NBA and listening to George Harrison in his freetime. Some of his many accomplishments are being nationally ranked in monopoly and being a Turkey Bowl MVP. If you see Andrew watching TV, it’s probably Game of Thrones or a Justin Bieber documentary. This summer is going to be awesome for Andrew because he gets to spend it at WCC Summer Camp!
CODY CLARK, Cabin Leader
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Cody Clark (he/him) is currently a Religion and Identity Studies double major at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He plans to get a Master’s degree in these fields and go into Youth Ministry. His main hobby is essentially being a nerd all day, all the time (his primary interests include anything Lego, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, etc. related) and he is truly looking forward to connecting with the campers over these subjects over the summer. He is also looking forward to experiencing camp from a new and different perspective while making core memories and life-long friendships while providing the campers with a meaningful experience.
EVAN LEPHART, Waterfront Director and Cabin Leader
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Evan is a senior at the University of Minnesota studying English, and will be starting his DirecTrack program to become a high school English teacher. He is currently the Vice President of Chi Psi Fraternity, and he can’t wait to get started on his second year of WCC Summer Camp! In his free time, he loves DJ-ing, all sports, Chipotle, life by the lake, and working out. He is most looking forward to seeing all of the shining and happy faces of the campers this summer!
GRETCHEN DWYER, Cabin Leader
Gretchen (she/her) is a junior at Luther College studying law and policymaking. In addition to working at camp, she is a virtual assistant for a private business owner! For fun, she loves to be with friends, write music, sing, play piano, cuddle with her cat, read, and spend time outside. In the future, Gretchen wants to teach her cat how to walk on a leash. Her favorite things include: listening to Elton John, Sara Bareilles, and FINNEAS, watching Netflix documentaries, camping in the Boundary Waters, and traveling. Gretchen is most excited to create an inclusive and encouraging environment for campers and staff! This is Gretchen’s first summer at camp and she’s looking forward to making friends and creating healthy dynamics between everyone involved.
JOSH VELNER, Cabin Leader
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Josh (he/him) just finished his freshman year at the University of St. Thomas, and is majoring in Business and Finance. Josh’s goals include continuing to grow as a person and his relationships, as well as eventually starting his own business and have a friend start it up with him! His favorite hobbies include hanging out with friends, skiing, and playing sports with friends. His favorite food is definitely his grandma’s spaghetti, and all he watches on TV is sports or Impractical Jokers. Josh is looking forward to getting to meet all the campers, build relationships with them as well as everyone on staff, and create memories that will last a lifetime and have fun!
GRACE GONDECK, Cabin Leader
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Grace will be attending UC Davis this upcoming fall, and one of her goals is to live abroad for a year! Grace Loves to draw, read, and bake in her free time, and she is most looking forward to meeting and greeting memories with all the campers this summer.
BEN RAMERT, Cabin Leader
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This will be Ben’s second year working on the WCC Camp staff, he couldn’t be more excited to greet all the amazing campers and give them a wonderful summer like he had when he was at camp. His favorite camp activities are swimming, hammocking, and arts and crafts! Outside of camp he enjoys video games, baking and hiking.
SABRINA, Cabin Leader
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This is Sab’s (she/they) first year as a Cabin Leader! In their free time, Sab likes to spend time with her loved ones. Sab also plays a lot of intruments and is a part of an Indie band! Sab is most excited to build connections with her campers and co-cabin leaders throughout the summer.