Everyone in the SeriousFun community knows camp is a place where kids discover what’s possible. But sometimes, it’s also where they discover what they’re meant to do.

As a child living with LAMA2-related congenital muscular dystrophy, Gavin grew up navigating a world that wasn’t always built with him in mind.

Too often, his wheelchair was the first thing people noticed instead of the person he was. Victory Junction, our SeriousFun camp in North Carolina, offered something different: a place where he could feel included, independent, and fully himself.

At camp, Gavin found more than confidence. He found a place where friendships came naturally and every activity was designed so he could participate fully. Along the way, he learned what it felt like to make his own decisions and advocate for himself.

Looking back, Gavin says camp helped him build positivity and taught him not to be afraid to meet new people. Each summer brought new campers, new friendships, and the reassurance that came from quickly connecting with people who understood him.

For his mom, Mindy, the transformation was impossible to miss.

“When we drove through that tunnel, I wished I could bottle the emotion,” she said. “It’s a thankfulness, a gratefulness… somebody loves your kid enough to do this and to see him for him.”

The first time she picked Gavin up from camp, she remembers him eagerly introducing her to the friends he’d made.

“Look at all these friends that are like me, or that see me for me, not this wheelchair.”

Camp also helped Gavin discover interests that would eventually shape his career.

When Victory Junction selected him as a guest reporter at a NASCAR race, he discovered a passion for sports media. The experience inspired him to study creative media production in college, and today he has come full circle, working with Victory Junction’s marketing and communications team, creating content and covering racing events that help introduce new families to camp.

This summer, Gavin will return to Victory Junction for his first camp session since his summers as a camper, taking on a content creator role with the camp’s marketing team.

“The biggest opportunity camp gave me wasn’t at camp,” Gavin says. The experience gave him a career path.

Today, Gavin credits camp with helping him embrace new opportunities and discover a sense of purpose that continues to shape his life.

“Camp has not only given me confidence and happiness as a kid,” he says, “but also purpose as an adult.”