Like many children Hannah Lahodny was very curious about the world.  She liked to play creatively and recalls that she often made messes when playing at home.   “Back then, I was shy and soft spoken and I didn’t have much confidence.” 

The first time Hannah came to Ferncliff she was eight years old.   Hannah’s mom grew up going to camp and wanted Hannah to have a similar experience so she signed her up for day camp at Ferncliff.  “Even though it was over 20 years ago I still remember the names of my first counselors:  Cameron Highsmith and Savannah Butler”, Hannah recently recalled.

Hannah liked day camp right away.  She quickly learned that hiking and being in nature were some of her favorite things.  She liked being at Ferncliff and she began to grow comfortable and confident at camp.  After that first experience, Hannah kept coming to camp and she learned that Ferncliff was much more than the activities and the natural setting.  The real benefit, she found out, came from the relationships she made and the community that she formed with the other campers and counselors.  

“I really felt the power that my summer camp counselors held in molding me and the other campers.  They invited us to join a community where everyone is welcome.  I really loved that.”  Hannah loved it so much that when she turned fifteen years old she trained to be a lifeguard so she could join the summer staff as soon as possible.  “Of course I benefited from being a camper but I think I benefited even more from my years as a summer staff member.  That time was so formative.  I developed lots of my interpersonal skills and emotional skills. I learned how to work with people from diverse nationalities and people from different backgrounds.  All of this I attribute to Ferncliff.”

Hannah particularly enjoyed getting to know the international staff at Ferncliff.  She visited many of them in their home countries and through those adventures she developed a love for international travel.  Later, via her Ferncliff connections,  she traveled to Honduras several times on mission trips.  These experiences ultimately steered her towards her chosen career.  Hannah now works for the United Nations World Food Program in Rwanda.  “I tell my friends at work that I wouldn’t be at the UN without Ferncliff.  Ferncliff was a conduit to making the world bigger than what I knew at the time.”  

Hannah still comes to visit Ferncliff between contracts with the UN.  And she still finds that the practice she developed as a child at Ferncliff, renewing herself in nature, is still important to her.   “I still need to return home and be in the woods. It refreshes me.”

As a child Hannah needed a safe place to find her voice and her community.  Ferncliff was that place for her.  As a young adult she needed an experience to broaden her view of the world and ignite her passion.  Ferncliff provided that for her too.  And now, as Hannah works to help feed the hungry in the world and she finds herself needing a place to be renewed and refreshed, Ferncliff is still here— waiting for her return. 

Because of your generosity, Ferncliff provides life-changing experiences like the ones given to Hannah.  Thank you for your generosity to Ferncliff, this ministry we all share.