COR Leadership Track and Sigma Graduates

Sky Ranch announces first graduates of COR Leadership Track ever!! 

Sky Ranch is proud to announce the first graduates of the COR Leadership Track ever!  Seven young men and women faced the Sigma Defense on January 2, 2010, at "52", our annual College Conference.  They handled themselves with brilliance and did not waiver in the face of the challenge.  We are not presenting these students as perfect or having "arrived" as fully mature leaders, but with this graduation, we would like to express our sincere and heartfelt belief in who they are, and more importantly, who they will become if they stay on the track they have started.

Over the last 15 years, Sky Ranch has been working with parents, educators, ministry professionals and kids to develop a series of experiences designed to help a student mature in their faith and the skills they will need to be successful in college and beyond.  The COR Leadership Track is six summer camp experiences that help a student move from consumer to contributor.

 For those who start the track and are invited into the final phase of the program called "Sigma", there is one final challenge they can choose to face after completing the second Sigma experience.  It is called the Sigma Defense.  These students sit before a council of leaders, many of whom they have been learning from over the years during these summer camps, and give a defense of what they believe and why they believe it.  They define leadership and why they believe they can be used as a leader.  The students face questions about their faith, their mission in life, and their plans for living in such a way that they will become the full expression of who they were created to be.  Their answers are challenged and their ideas tested by the council.  When the Sigma Defense is over, the council blesses them with a time of encouragement and challenge for the years that will follow.  Those who face this final challenge become a COR Leader and receive a special gift called "The Colors", signifying their commitment to live a life of excellence and impact.

Congratulations to our first COR Leaders!  Well done! 

Brooke Carter is a senior at Argyle High School.  She has been a Sky Ranch camper for six years.  Brooke enjoys spending time with her friends and family, art, music andher favorite treat is a root beer float.  She will be attending Texas A&M in the fall of 2010 and cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for her.

Erin Digan is a senior from Plano, Texas.  She has spent the last 10 summers at Sky Ranch. She firmly believes her faith would not be where it is today if it were not for her time at Sky.  She feels she grew up being molded by the leadership programs.  From the basketball court to being an orchestra officer, Erin applies all the amazing Sky Ranch lessons she's learned to her every day real life issues.  Sky Ranch has not only sparked her faith but has taught her how to be an effective leader.  She is proud to say Sky Ranch has been one of the most amazing experiences in her life. 

Ashlyn Casto, a seventeen year old from Hebron High School in Plano, Texas, can hardly wait to go to college.  She is excited to see where God will lead her.  She has been coming to Sky Ranch for 12 years.  She feels honored to have been a Quest Kid, and then a Sigma for the past two years.  She loves the outdoors, where she can see God's awesomeness in all creation.  Sky Ranch feels like home, especially after working a year as a day camp counselor.  She loves Sky Ranch for helping her grow closer to her Lord and Savior.

Tyler Ramirez's 9 years of Sky Ranch camping has prepared him to be an assistant counselor this coming summer in Van, Texas.  Each and every summer experience deeply affected his Christian life.  He knows Sigma changed his life and relationship with Christ forever.  Tyler is 19 and is cuurently attending Texas Tech, studying advertising.  He feels God has called him to share His Word through media.  He is looking forward to seeing what God has in store for this summer and the future.

Alex Adam started coming to Sky Ranch when he was eight years old.  Summer 2009 he completed his final camper year with the Sigma program.  After 10 years of being a camper, Alex is extremely excited to be a counselor next summer.  Alex is a general studies major at Texas A&M.  He spends the vast majority of his free time working and playing with his Freshman Leadership Organization and the Aggie Fish Club.  Sky Ranch has been a huge part of his life and walk with Christ.  Alex says he is thrilled to have the privilege to help provide that experience for new, incoming campers.  He feels it is a huge opportunity to give back to the place that has given him so much.

Claire Pettibon, a senior from Argyle High School, has been a Sky Ranch camper since Sky 1.  She says she loves everything about Sky Ranch!  She will be attending the University of Texas at Austin where she will be serving in missions.  In her free time, she loves to play basketball, be with friends and family, and watching movies.

Tyler Morris, a Coppell High School senior, has been at Sky Ranch for 8 years, including Quest, Sigma, and a year on staff.  Tyler plans to keep Sky Ranch as a part of his life and as his home during the summer for many years to come.  He currently enjoys working on the schools student newspaper while unraveling the mystery of which college to attend next year.  He says he cannot wait until next summer, when he will be working as a Day Camp Counselor.

Students completing their second year of Sigma this summer will have the opportunity to choose to face the Sigma Defense and receive their colors as well.  We look forward to sharing this unique culminating growth experience with the young men and women who are currently enjoying their time in our Morph, Quest, and Sigma leadership camps.