During the last week of July and the first week of August, some local police and emergency services officers are taking time off work. They aren’t using the time to head off for a beach vacation or catch up on sleep and their favorite TV shows. They are volunteering at Camp Cadet, a weeklong camp where Centre County teens get a hands-on look at law enforcement and emergency services while gaining leadership skills, self-esteem, and confidence.
“Camp Cadet means excitement!” says State College Police Lt. KL Aston, camp coordinator. “[It’s] holding on to your hat as the police chopper lands, hitting the bull’s eye on the rifle range, tipping a canoe in the lake, and flying down the zip line through the trees.
“Campers do sports and activities like challenge courses and mountain biking, observe demonstrations from the FBI, police canine, and more, and take CSI classes with fingerprinting and crime scene processing,” she adds.
Camp Cadet is held annually at Camp Blue Diamond in Huntingdon County. It is open to kids ages 12 to 15 who live in Centre County. This year, girls’ week is July 27 to Aug. 2, and boys’ week is Aug. 3-9. The cost is $250 per cadet, with full and partial scholarships available.
Who would make a good candidate? It’s not just for pre-teens and teens interested in law enforcement. It’s for “any kid aged 12 to 15 who wants to have a fun summer camp experience, make friends, and be actively involved in the many camp activities offered,” Aston says. “It is not a requirement or necessary for a child to be interested in law enforcement. We will build relationships with them and provide them with experiences and activities related to law enforcement, which all of our campers have found thrilling even if they had no interest before.”
Some campers are athletes and come for a week of physical training, while others come from military or law enforcement families. Some come for the outdoor survival skills and adventure. No matter what brings each cadet to camp for the week, Aston says that building trust between Centre County’s youth and the law enforcement community is the paramount goal of the program.
“Many counselors [officers] have encountered youth who have attended camp in the past and instead of that young person shying away, they are eager to see the officers and talk to them, catch them up on what’s been going on in their lives, and just say hi!” Aston says. “Other cadets have been able to turn to their former counselors when facing difficult times, and many have established mentor relationships that last well beyond the week of camp. We have had cadets become police officers, others that have entered other areas in the justice system, and some that send their own children to camp after having great memories of the camp themselves as a child.”
From camper to police officer
Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Nicholas Kopp is one of those former campers. A Centre County local, he attended Camp Cadet in 2001. “I had an incredible experience as a camper — enough of a good experience that it defined the next 20 years of my life,” he says.
After attending the camp as a cadet, he ultimately joined the Pennsylvania State Police. He went back to the camp as an intern, and today volunteers his time as a counselor.
“I’ve always liked to teach kids,” he says. “I like to start the foundation of a relationship with law enforcement so they don’t feel that they have to be scared of us. Some kids only see police officers when they are pulled over or are involved in an accident, and I am passionate about showing them who we are and the kind of things that we get to do as part of our job. We can show them that we are truly there to better our community, be there for them, and help them.”
Kopp’s goal of showing kids how police officers positively impact Centre County, he says, is working. “I cannot tell you how many times I have run into parents while I am at a gas station fueling my patrol car, or picking up food, and they will tell me how much Camp Cadet changed their child. That’s one of our biggest motivators.”
“We get a lot of younger kids who are 12 and 13 who have never experienced something like this before,” he says. “They struggle with being away from home, surrounded by strangers, and we encourage them to face their fears. They get to do things they thought they could never do, like tackle the rock wall or zipline, and they are saying, ‘Gosh, that was amazing.’ We get to watch these kids grow exponentially just based on the challenges that they face and how they work together to overcome them.”
Aston agrees. “My personal favorite thing about camp is being able to see kids go from shy and unsure of themselves to thriving by the end of the week, making friends, having a blast, and getting outside of their comfort zones a little bit,” she says.
“It is also important for me as a female in law enforcement to show young women that they can do this job too, or anything they set their mind to,” she adds. “I love creating a culture where girls are supporting other girls, where women can be strong role models and mentors.”
Recognizing honor and integrity
At the end of each camp week, counselors nominate one cadet to attend the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner’s Honor Camp, which is held annually in Hershey. The decision is noteasy.
“We are looking for someone who stands out in their individual squad and takes on a leadership role, shows honor and integrity, and has the entire week without letting it slide at all,” Kopp says. “We usually come up with multiple names and have long, long discussions to decide on the one person who we will nominate for honors camp. These kids are truly just incredible.”
There’s one more thing that happens on the last day of camp. After a full week of spending life with their counselors — learning archery, sitting around a campfire, canoeing, rock climbing — it’s time for graduation.
The campers head off to clean up and put on their new graduation T-shirts, and the counselors suit up in their uniforms. “It’s truly the first time most of them have put two and two together that I am a police officer,” Kopp says with a laugh. “Their jaws drop. It’s an ‘Oh, gosh, this person I just spent every minute with from daylight to dark is really a police officer.’ It’s because they got to know me as a counselor and person first before seeing the uniform outright.
“I can’t speak highly enough about the program,” he adds. “We have so many top-notch police officers who really have kids’ best interests in mind and want to put a good program on for the kids. I am so passionate about the camp because of what it does, and because of the experiences that it provides for kids in Centre County.”
Camp Cadet is held at Camp Blue Diamond in Huntingdon County. Registration for summer 2025 opens in March. For more information, follow Centre County Camp Cadet on Facebook. T&G
Cara Aungst lives in Belleville with her husband and five kids, who are all taller than her.
