The Macarena – More Than Just a Dance

Chauncy Hendon attended HSI in 2022 and is currently a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Wyoming. Originally from Cheyenne, the 3-week trip to UW became an eye-opening experience for him. In his freshman year of college, he wrote an autoethnography about his experience at HSI. Below, we have summarized portions of the essay and also used direct quotes. 

As a rising high school junior, being away from home for 3 weeks can feel daunting. It comes with anxieties that everyone can relate to. For Chauncy that stress of being away from home and getting out of his comfort zone came in the form of making friends.  

“I was quite lucky, as there were three other boys from my high school going to camp. We all knew each other’s names and had eaten lunch together in the past, so I felt confident that even if I didn’t find people I liked to hang out with, they would be there, and I would still have fun... Thankfully, I did end up making a lot of friends,” said Chauncy. 

The companionship that Chauncy found at HSI went beyond just having a friend at camp. His connections taught him about following through with his commitments. He learned this lesson when he almost missed a volleyball session that he promised his friend he would attend. Before the gym session, Chauncy’s friend talked to him about almost missing recreational volleyball. Chauncy said, “I didn’t realize until then how important it is to be there for people.” 

Chauncy discovered that true friendship is more than just about fun hangouts and inside jokes. HSI taught him that being a friend means following through and showing up for people. This newly discovered connection led Chauncy and his group of friends to take a far step out of their comfort zone and perform the Macarena at the HSI talent show.  

“My friend[s] agreed to my stupid plan at the talent show: do the Macarena. We all agreed that we didn’t have an actual talent that was going to beat out some amazing performances, so we would shoot for absurd and do the Macarena for two and a half minutes. This plan was two weeks in the making.” 

Their weeks long plan that was rooted in absurdity became a highlight for the talent show. During their performance, they were shocked to find an outburst of encouragement from their fellow campers. “Half of the whole camp ended up performing the Macarena! It was two and a half minutes of absurd joy, seeing people smile and laugh, clap and cheer for the sake of being here. I remember hearing people cheer my name...I remember smiling, realizing I would never forget the Macarena,” said Chauncy about the experience.  

 Beyond the social aspect of HSI, Chauncy had the opportunity to discover his academic passions through the classes offered at camp. Chauncy was placed into the Stage Combat course. True to HSI’s traditions of college-like courses, this class is about gaining experiences and trying something new. In Stage Combat Chauncy learned to throw a punch, attack with a dagger and how to fight in battle (all fake of course). “Our final performance was a huge success! As the Eye of the Tiger played in the background, I successfully died on stage,” said Chauncy. 

Similarly, in his Robotics course, Chauncy gained experience with electronics and was given every teenager’s dream task of creating any robotic device he wanted. This project inspired confidence in Chauncy and challenged him to push his creative limits, which of course meant pushing the limits of what he was allowed to build. 

“I made a slot machine, which is not the most responsible thing to allow a 16-year-old to make, but regardless, I had an amazing time,” said Chauncy. 

The support Chauncy found in the friendships, professors and fellow campers made his HSI experience unforgettable. It also inspired him to come to the University of Wyoming and join the Honors College, where he is now a SOAR mentor to other students. 

“I loved HSI. I made so many friends and became excited about learning in college! It was truly amazing.” 

Chauncy continues to engage in HSI alumni activities and interact with the many friends he made at camp here at UW.