You’ve seen her as a staff member, a counselor, an assistant camp director, and now you’ll see her as a mommy-to-be. Emily Spivey, formerly Emily Nelson, took a few minutes to catch up with the RYLArian Informant.
RYLArian Informant: Congratulations, Emily! When are you due? Girl or boy?
Emily Spivey: Girl. I’m due on March 21, but it looks like they are going to induce on March 14. Apparently I’m carrying a giant.
RI: How exciting! Have you settled on a name?
ES: My husband, Blake, and I are naming her Molly Rose Spivey.
RI: Because you’ll have a newborn, does that mean you won’t be able to come to camp this year?
ES: Yes, I’ve been coming to camp for ten years, but I’ll have to miss this year.
RI: About camp, why do you keep coming back?
ES: It’s my favorite week of the year! I’ll be back as long as they will have me! It is not work to go to RYLA, it is pure vacation and rejuvenation every year.
RI: What impact did RYLA have on your life when you were a camper?
ES: RYLA definitely helped me to come out of my shell. I was always the quiet one, and I knew I had good ideas, I just didn’t know how to get people to listen to me.
RI: And when were you a camper?
ES: 1999.
RI: How does RYLA continue to influence your life today?
ES: It is so refreshing to go each year and see kids that have such potential and promise. And to see high school students in a totally different way than I do at school…it does help remind me how great kids can be. And occasionally I get to see one of my own students go through the program, so to see a student that I know personally grow and change in the process of a week is so rewarding.
RI: So you’re a teacher? What do you teach?
ES: I teach algebra and math models at Rockwall High School.
RI: What do you love most about your job?
ES: Well, with teenagers, it is definitely always interesting…they keep me on my toes and always entertained with their antics.
RI: Is Rockwall your hometown?
ES: Yes, I attended high school there and went to college at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, which is now Texas State.
RI: Were you involved in anything at Texas State?
ES: I was a member of the Strutters — the university’s dance team — and Chi Omega.
RI: When did you and Blake get married?
ES: July 12, 2008.
RI: Any hobbies?
ES: Playing golf, reading, cooking, gardening, sewing.
RI: Okay, last question: In what ways are you excited about camp’s future?
ES: I am really excited to see how we continue to grow and change as rolls are handed down. It is bittersweet to see the program begin to change hands. I don’t want to see people that have been a part of the program for 20 years leave because I want things to always be the same, but it is also exciting to see new people that I love step into new rolls of leadership with the program.
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