Camper profiles - Dylan Gromen, Kitty Valbuena & Rosemary Dougall

Dylan Gromen

Dylan Gromen attended Eliot this year for the first time in July – virtually.  He really appreciates being invited by Alison Sturrock and her family – long time Elioteers. Dylan was born in Lancaster, PA, lived in Sweden from 2015 – 2019 and currently is residing in the Dominican Republic. 

Dylan thinks that Eliot did a phenomenal job with establishing an online community full of love and light.  He especially loved the stories shared, games played and the TED-talks.  After being quarantined for some time, Eliot gave him something to look forward to each day.  Although being outdoors with others would have been lovely, he found virtual Eliot an extremely nice alternative.

School is what has brought Dylan through this pandemic so far.  He and his colleagues have appreciated the time to be developing a new program that is centered in Makers centered learning and it has been a blessing in disguise.  He also has been reflecting each day over a cup of tea on all the positive things in life despite the pandemic.  Despite all of the tragedy that has happened and is happening, Dylan said that, “If I allow ‘my boat’ to be filled with negativity, I will sink”.

Virtual Eliot has allowed our community to begin to get to know Dylan even though he lives so far away.  We are certainly looking forward to the possibility of getting to know him better -  in person - at Seabeck in the near future.

Kitty Valbuena

Hello! My name is Kitty Valbuena and I use they/them pronouns. I am from Vancouver, Washington, and my home congregation is the Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver. I have been attending July Eliot since 2008. I was 8 years old, and in the 12 years since, some of the most important developments of my life occurred at Seabeck. The July Eliot community has seen me at some of my lowest moments, and at some of my best. This sense of community that has existed even at those low moments continues to bring me back to the space.

Having had experience building online communities before, in UU and non-UU spaces, the transition to online Eliot was probably smoother for me than it was for most. I must also give credit to the 2020 July Deans, Janelle and Peter Durham, who did an excellent job of crafting an online experience that felt like Eliot despite the distance from Seabeck. One of the biggest, if not the biggest, reason this transition was so seamless for me was because of how accessible the online space was for me. 

I am on the Autism spectrum, and the benefits of being online were manifold. Notable examples include having a space in which noise levels can be controlled through the use of the mute button, thus allowing me to engage in community activities for longer before becoming too overwhelmed. This was in sharp contrast to in-person Eliot, at which I often need to choose between attending programming and attending small groups because having both back-to-back is far too overwhelming for me. Being able to have meals in a Zoom room helped me feel like I was included in the social aspects of Eliot mealtimes without having to endure the sensory bombardment that is 200+ people in the dining hall at the same time. I could go on and on. 

My point is that I appreciated the accessibility of the online Eliot experience very much, and if anyone is interested in discussing with me ways of helping make Eliot as a whole more inclusive, please contact me at ntvalbuena@gmail.com or text me at 360-281-3041.

Rosemary Dougall

Rosemary Dougall began attending August Eliot in 1983 and she has attended Winter Eliot for the past two years.  She loves the wonderful setting at Seabeck and spending time with the other campers.  At Eliot she meets new people and loves reconnecting with old friends.  

She loves many aspects of Eliot and especially appreciates the small discussion groups. They have provided a great way to get to know people on a deeper level.  Rosemary treasures the memories that she shared with her daughter, Lucy, who she began bringing to Eliot from the time Lucy was 4 years old until she was 18.  Their time at Eliot was a very special time of the summer for both of them.

During her first virtual Eliot, Rosemary missed not being at Seabeck but she found the  experience to be a surprisingly good way to connect with other campers.  Watching and listening to the speaker on Zoom worked well for her.  

During this pandemic, Rosemary has realized how fortunate she is to be healthy, retired, and have a comfortable place to live.  She goes for a lot of walks with her dog and friends and has also been able to get together with a few friends at a time outside.  Since she has had to look for new places to walk, she has had the opportunity to get to know and appreciate the many parks in Kitsap County.