Meet the team: Krystin “Lo” Whitacre
Krystin is our Program Director and has been part of the Camp Casco family since the very beginning. Her journey with the cancer camp community started years before she came to Boston.
In college, I met someone who attended a pediatric cancer camp as a child and wrote a paper about her experience as a camper and then as a volunteer. I was assigned to peer edit her paper, and her experience spoke to me in a way nothing else had. I had recently lost a high school peer to cancer, and I was looking for a way to cope and give back. I signed up to volunteer at the camp, and the person who wrote the paper became one of my best friends. After that summer, I knew this was my calling.
Erin and I met in 2008 at a similar camp in Southern California. She and I were paired together in the same cabin as CITS (Counselors in Training) and became instant friends! We were also on the camp’s Leadership Team for several years before teaming up to run Camp Casco. We co-directed the first Camp Casco session in 2015; the rest is history!
When Erin first mentioned that she wanted to start a camp on the East Coast, I knew I wanted to be part of it. And I knew if anyone could do it, it would be Erin. I can’t say that I fully knew what I was getting myself into at the time, but it’s been an incredible journey!
My favorite part of camp is seeing the friendships form during the week. In the real world, a week is not enough time to get to know someone. But a week in camp time can feel like years! Kids come to camp as strangers and leave with giant group text chains, and they come back the next year with special bonds. There’s really nothing more fulfilling than seeing the kids leave with amazing friendships.
It’s so hard to pick a favorite camp memory! There are so many. The talent show always brings around some fantastic acts that have stuck with me for years. The Stormtroopers 60’s party, Snoopy getting tricked into getting shaving cream all over him, the Circle of Life reenactment at Sibs, and last year’s Batman Frozen ballad at Overnight had me in stitches! This year, I think I’m most looking forward to seeing our Sibling Camp continue to grow. This is an incredible group of individuals, and so deserving of a camp all their own!
Some non-camp things about me: I went to art school! I love performing, singing, acting, and dancing (though today, that usually happens in front of a campfire). I also love to paint and draw!
