This year’s interns at Viento y Agua summer camp, front row, left to right, Yeribel Bolanos, Noely Flores, Director Fiona Wylde, Erandy Galindo, Geraldine Nunez, and Brisia Mendez; back row, from left, Hannah Sebring, Yurem Sandoval, Emmanuel Galindo, Juan Flores, Jose Rueda, and Jose Betancourt. Not pictured, Abelardo Gomes. This is the fourth year of the program.
This year’s interns at Viento y Agua summer camp, front row, left to right, Yeribel Bolanos, Noely Flores, Director Fiona Wylde, Erandy Galindo, Geraldine Nunez, and Brisia Mendez; back row, from left, Hannah Sebring, Yurem Sandoval, Emmanuel Galindo, Juan Flores, Jose Rueda, and Jose Betancourt. Not pictured, Abelardo Gomes. This is the fourth year of the program.
HOOD RIVER — Wylde Wind & Water’s Viento y Agua summer camp program kicked off its fourth year on July 28. The program is a partnership with Hood River County School District’s Title 1-C Migrant Education Program, a federally funded initiative for children whose families move frequently to work in seasonal agriculture or fishing. The approximately 75 students participating in the camp learn about water safety and recreation while fostering community through stand up paddling, kayaking, and other sports on the water.
Paired with a concurrent paid internship program for high school students, in its inaugural year in 2022, Viento y Agua hosted six interns. This summer, there are 11 interns who help set up the summer camps, and serve as mentors and leaders for the younger students.
Yeribel, a returning intern, first heard about the internship through her school’s Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) chapter, and was encouraged by Title 1-C Graduation Coach America Flores to apply. Now in her third summer as an intern, Yeribel finds fulfillment in working together as a team and setting everything up for the kids. “[The kids] are really entertaining. They’re so excited, full of energy,” Yeribel said.
First-time interns and cousins Brisia and Geraldine, who both work seasonal catering jobs at Mount Hood Organic Farms every Saturday and Sunday, unexpectedly stumbled upon the internship opportunity after attending one of Wylde Wind & Water’s weekly wingfoil orientations. “One of our coworkers named Kenny told us about the [wingfoil orientation] and he said it was completely free, so I was interested,” said Geraldine. “I brought my cousin with me, and while we were trying to wingfoil, we got to meet Fiona and Ellen.” After speaking to Ellen Wylde and exchanging contact information, Brisia and Geraldine both applied to be interns.
Geraldine said that one of her favorite parts of the program is that it brings out her inner child. “I wish I had a program like this when I was a kid,” she said. She emphasized the importance of having a program for children who speak English as a second language, and to have mentors and staff members who can connect with the kids through shared background and language.
“It’s been really fun, because I’m a really shy person,” Brisia said. She is often hesitant to try new things, but having Geraldine and a whole cohort of interns has allowed her to go beyond her comfort zone.
According to Founder and Executive Director Fiona Wylde, a main goal of all of Wylde Wind & Water’s programs is to teach people in the community new skills and to be able to get more kids out onto the water safely. “When we started [Viento y Agua], we didn’t think it was going to be as popular as it is now in terms of interest and retention,” she said. “And I think it’s — no pun intended — blown us out of the water in terms of the excitement of not just the students who are coming back to camp but also for the interns.” The program has seen kids return continuously year after year, with their confidence and abilities in the water significantly improving, Wylde said.
The Viento y Agua program is supported by staff members, some of whom are alums of the intern program in previous years. Through the program’s growth and its emphasis on personal and career development, Wylde has been able to step into more of a director role while former interns have been able to step up into leadership roles, she said.
Favian Lopez, one of six interns in the program’s first summer, now works as an intern leader and dock manager for Wylde Wind & Water. “The first year I started paddleboarding, it was just on my knees. I didn’t have the balance, so it took me a year to learn,” Lopez said. “Now it’s my fourth year doing this, and I’m pretty good.”
Lopez has had other jobs, including working at a pear orchard that many of his family members work at. Although Hood River County has a significant Hispanic population and even more so in the summers, Lopez observed, many families who work in the orchards haven’t had the chance to bring their kids down to the water. “Especially in the summer, their parents are working in the mornings, three in the morning, working at the cherries. By the time they get home, they’re already worn out from the day,” Lopez said.
“Some of those kids have never been out here in the water, and we try to ease them, show them the difference between wearing a life jacket and not wearing a life jacket,” Lopez said. Lopez’s younger brother, Luis, has been attending the program for three years and looks forward to being an intern in the future when he reaches high school.
According to Wylde, due to federal policies affecting grants and other funding sources, Wylde Wind & Water has received only 60% of its usual funding this year compared to last. However, participation in the organization’s programs has increased even as funding has decreased, Wylde said.
Wylde Wind & Water is committed to continuing to offer all of its programs while exploring other avenues for funding, “because we see how valuable they are for the community,” Wylde said.
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