08/05/2026
Check out this great article that UVA Today (University of Virginia) wrote about it’s relationship with Pine Island, featuring our very own Sarah Jun:
{Photo of Sarah Jun by Theresa Carroll and article written by Jane Kelly. Shared with permission}
“Maine’s oldest summer camp is celebrating its 124th anniversary – and the 15th year of a partnership with the University of Virginia that started when a random man walked into the office of nursing professor Theresa Carroll in the fall of 2009.
That man was Ben Swan, who earned a master’s degree in English from UVA in, he recollects, 1982. The day he wandered into Carroll’s office, he was on a mission. The camp head said it was notoriously difficult to recruit a medic each year. “I saw a sign for UVA Nursing School, and I thought, ‘Well, who knows? Bound to be a bunch of nurses in there,’ and so I just walked in,” he said.
His pitch was simple. Swan needed a young person who could relate to campers and staff, had medical experience and not only the ability, but the desire to commit to living and working on a remote island, where the only electricity and running water are in the dining hall.”
*read the rest of the article in our link in bio*
And we’ll spoil the ending:
“Honestly, this has just been the best experience of my life,” Sarah said. “I’m already trying to think of ways to maybe delay getting a job in the hospital. Maybe I can come back next summer, because I really would love to see these kids again and work with the staff again. It’s pretty awesome.”
