JHS Student Makes Chautauqua Way Of Life
By Dave Emke demke@post-journal.comArticle Photos
Fact Box
Standing Out in the Crowd
CHAUTAUQUA - Spending his summers there for as long as he can remember, Bryce Hanson has developed quite an affection for Chautauqua Institution.
The 17-year-old son of Mark and Cindy Hanson of Jamestown is preparing for his senior year at Jamestown High School with another season on the grounds, having experiences he wishes other locals would take the time to enjoy.
''It's a very addicting place,'' Bryce said about Chautauqua, where he works as an assistant counselor at the Boys and Girls Club day camp. ''You're going to meet some of the coolest, definitely most different, people up here and make long-lasting relationships and memories.''
Bryce stays on the grounds each summer in a home owned by his grandparents. He says one of the great things about Chautauqua is that people from all over the country come together to form a new community each summer where they can find themselves.
''It doesn't really matter where you're from or what you've done, it's just a place where everyone finds common ground,'' he said. ''Even those people who are in their first time at Chautauqua, they all agree that it is a very addicting place.''
Working at the Boys and Girls Club camp at Chautauqua, Bryce gets the chance daily to work with young people who are also finding themselves and making new friendships within the seasonal community.
''Basically, we give them something to do through their summers and make sure it's a fun time,'' he said. ''Club gives them an awesome time to meet all kinds of new people, and that's kind of the cool thing about being up here at Chautauqua.''
In his current position with the camp, Bryce works daily with a group called the SAC Boys - who are only two or three years younger than him. He also gets occasional opportunities, he said, to work with the younger children in the camp.
His work at the Boys and Girls Club day camp gives him an opportunity to hone his skills working with youth, a field which Bryce says he might be interested in for his future.
''I like working with kids, so education has popped up as an interest,'' he said. ''I guess that's why I'm planning to go to a liberal arts school, so I can figure out what and where I need to be.''
Bryce said that psychology and music are also among majors he might decide to pursue down the line. While he hasn't made any final decisions about college yet, the JHS honor student says he hopes Chautauqua remains a part of his life no matter where he ends up.
''I really love it up here,'' he said. ''Chautauqua has become a consideration for what I do once I get out of college. It's creeped into my thinking - 'Can I get up to Chautauqua?' If the answer is 'no,' the job will pretty much have to be perfect.''
Outside of Chautauqua's gates, Bryce's interests include participating on the Jamestown Lakers and Jamestown Red Raiders hockey teams, as well as the JHS varsity golf team. He said he has been playing each sport for about 10 years and that he became interested in them through family influences.
''My brother drew me to hockey,'' Bryce said, speaking of older brother Tyler, a 2005 JHS graduate. ''He played hockey and I'd follow him around in the driveway. You know, the older brother - I wanted to be like him. ... Golf is just around in the family as well, so once I got old enough to have some physical capability to start swinging a club around, I started.''
Bryce is a member of the National Honor Society and treasurer of the Key Club at JHS. He was given the school's Charles Dickens Literary Exploration Award after his sophomore year for his efforts in English class, and he completed two AP courses and JCC-equivalent Spanish courses during his junior year. His senior year will be just as strenuous, if not more so, as he is enrolled in two more AP courses and another JCC credit class.
Throughout the school year, when times get hectic and tough, Bryce's mind often drifts to the summer destination he has come to refer to as an addiction.
''You run through tough patches sometimes - whether school is stressful or family is stressful or anything's stressful - and I always talk to Chautauqua friends first,'' he said. ''I think about here and I think about the summer. I honestly can't say enough about here, for sure.''
When asked if he would ever consider a career working at Chautauqua, Bryce said he might be interested in pursuing public relations. Given the way he speaks about the Institution already, it's a job he seems to have been born to do.
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If you have an area student you would like to recommend for Standing Out In The Crowd, contact Dave Emke at 487-1111, ext. 253 or demke@post-journal.com. This series of features highlights students who stand out both in the classroom and in their community.
