Building Trust Virtually

By Mara Garcia

2020 has been quite the year. All realms of typical life have faded to a distant memory, and we are doing our best to create a new normalcy within this challenging time. As an educator in the field of social and emotional learning, I spent the spring term wondering how schools might reimagine community and maintain the relationships necessary for a constructive learning process. 

In May, Nalukai announced that camp would run virtually and I was asked to help develop purposeful social and emotional curriculum that would lay a foundation of trust and rapport for the Founders, team leaders, and instructors. This, in turn, encourages true teamwork and collaboration--the kind that leads students to candidly discuss their ideas and how they can co-create their endeavors. To tell the truth, I was a bit skeptical. I couldn’t help but think back to the last three months of teaching a wellness curriculum virtually and the challenges faced in that setting. That said, I joined the leadership team via Zoom and together we worked through literally every moment of every day of camp, but more importantly, we dreamed. We set our intention towards specific outcomes, we held one another in high regard, we listened and we found that we were well-aligned in our vision. 

Through this collaboration, we began to envision ways in which Founders might find the virtual realm quite comfortable and a natural setting to form connections. Afterall, generationally they have been raised within the virtual domain, and many prefer to connect with one another online. We realized that this year’s camp needed to find a way to tap into that familiarity. We also realized that the skills needed for effective communication, meaningful relationship building and fostering a sense of community still needed to be explicitly taught. 

Mid-way through this year’s virtual camp, I can say with confidence, that intentional social emotional learning activities and providing time and practice for intentional skill development, continues to set the foundation for a successful Nalukai experience. Authentic and caring instructors, that are experts in their fields, and believe in the potential of adolescents--inspire those very adolescents to rise to the occasion. This year’s Founders have established their sense of place, through these tried and true tenants. We have found that the more ownership we give Founders and team leaders to create the virtual community of Nalukai, the more they teach and amaze us. 

When it comes to social and emotional learning at camp, it is essential to take the time to explicitly teach age-appropriate skills, to develop genuine relationships that, in turn, validate each student’s sense of self and belonging.  From there, students and team leaders and facilitators readily share their experiences and wisdom and a community of trust and collaboration is established. Nalukai Academy Virtual Summer Startup Camp has created a space where these are all present, and the results are most definitely rocking our world.