STU Impact Summer Camp: the 2024 ‘Ponchos up’ edition

By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

MIAMI | The theme of this year's STU Impact Camp called for participants to "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). With 54 young, excited and energetic Catholic students from various parishes and schools, Alex Gomez wondered how the adults in the group were going to manage the students to "be still," listen and let God do His work.

“I don’t know if it was the Holy Spirit that came over them, or what, but the moment that we did the sign of the cross at our first Mass in the chapel, they just shut down completely. They were respectful, quiet, and prayerful,” said Gomez, the camp’s manager.

At the annual summer camp held at St. Thomas University (STU) from June 10-13, 2024, teens from high schools, both archdiocesan and public, lived on the Miami Gardens campus and participated in activities that helped deepen their faith and enhance their leadership skills. They also connected with other young Catholics and bonded over camp fun.

A young Church that is alive, eager

For Catholic teens, especially those attending public high schools, the reality is that it is not always easy to talk about faith outside the Church, much less with someone their own age. Due to limited resources of time, finances and leadership, some parishes even lack ministry for their youth.

“We need to find some way to help the parishes realize that, yes, you can have a thousand ministries, but if the parish doesn’t have anything for young people, it’s going to be difficult down the line for them to connect,” said Gomez.

Valerie Richard, who helped as a camp counselor at STU Impact, knows the story well. She attended West Broward High, a public school in Pembroke Pines, and is a parishioner at St. Edward parish, where she serves as a cantor. Though involved, she said that growing up, the absence of a youth group at her church was, and still is, difficult.

“Before this camp, I wanted to desperately reconnect with the youth of the Catholic Church, and I felt I couldn’t do it,” said Richard.

Seeing students at STU Impact with a similar story gave her hope that young Catholics like her are trying to do something about it.

“After this camp, I was able to see that there are still youth in the Catholic Church who want to be here, who aren’t forced into the faith. It’s a personal choice to exist in the Catholic Church and I want to continue to help the Church grow,” she said.

Father Matthew Gomez, who served as the camp’s chaplain and is Alex Gomez’s brother, said the group exemplified a young Church that is alive.

“Not only are they alive, but they are eager and ready and willing to serve and to follow in a deeper love with Jesus. These kids are hungry and they will not stop until they find Jesus,” he said.

During the camp, at an evening of adoration at STU’s St. Anthony Chapel, Father Gomez was planning on processing the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance to each individual participant. Alex said the group was so eager that they didn’t even wait for the procession around the chapel. They went straight to the altar, knelt, and met the Blessed Sacrament there.

“I got goosebumps. I did not expect that from these kids at all. But in the moment, in the presence, they let God do what He had to do. It was a crazy, awesome experience,” said Alex Gomez.

So was witnessing the moment. Richard said she internally cheered every time another student went up.

“It was the best feeling I have ever experienced, seeing them wanting to get closer,” she said.

‘Ponchos up’ week

On the week of STU Impact, South Florida experienced one of the most severe rainfalls of 2024, with record-breaking flooding. But if you were to ask campers if it “rained on their parade,” they would disagree. If anything, the experience made the group bond even more.

“They are going to remember it as the ‘Ponchos up’ week that it rained non-stop. Every time we left a building [on campus], we would say ‘Ponchos up,’ and many would run out enthusiastically into the rain,” said Alex.

Scheduled outdoor activities in the camp were moved indoors, though some, like the scavenger hunt around St. Thomas University's Campus, were voluntarily done in ‘Ponchos up’ style.

“These kids did not let the rain bother them. We thought they were going to take shelter. No, no. They were out in the middle of the rain, soaking wet, taking pictures of everything that we had asked them to take pictures of,” said Father Gomez.

Looking back, Alex believes the weather was actually a blessing in disguise.

“You know how they say to see Christ in everything around you? And try to look for the Lord in everything around you, in everything you do, and everyone you meet? The rain that week was our Blessed Sacrament. It literally brought us together.”

Made possible by donations

STU has hosted the camp since 2016. This year, around 30 students received scholarships to participate in the camp, made possible by donations from parish and school ministries that helped offset the $350 fee per participant. The archdiocesan office of Black Catholic Ministry; the premarital preparation movement, Camino del Matrimonio; and the National Catholic Committee on Scouting also contributed. Ivan Diaz, director of campus ministry at STU, hopes that next year more benefactors and organizations could help.

“We don’t want money to be the obstacle. We want to make sure that if parents don’t have the funds, it’s alright. Come. The Lord has a plan and a way,” he said.

Going forward, he is dreaming big. “We want to make sure that this becomes the official Catholic camp for high schoolers in Miami,” said Diaz.

He believes that investing in young Catholics who are potential leaders, both lay and even religious, is a responsibility of the Church. Many of this year’s STU Impact participants are active members in their parishes and schools, serving as youth ministers, altar servers, choir members, and more.

“That youth is going to change the Church in the next couple of years. They are going to be the ones taking over, leading, and developing in different areas,” said Diaz.