BW Senior Helps to Lead Special Camp He Attended as a Child

BW senior Cory Svette has come full circle as he takes over as music director at a summer camp that made a difference to him as a child. Camp IDEAS (Individually Developed Educational Activities in the Summer) has been helping special-needs children in Lorain County for 17 years. The Lorain Morning Journal featured the month-long camp in a recent article, focusing on Svette as "a testament to (the camp's) success."

Svette first attended Camp IDEAS at age 8 following an autism diagnosis. At the time, he says he found it difficult to be in front of people or to communicate with them. “What really brought me out of it were the arts and music programs offered at camp. I really got attached to them,” the vocal music major told the newspaper.

Now, at 24, Svette leads the camp's choral and theatrical program—along with fellow BW students Alexander Healy, Joy DeMarco and Mikhayla Wilkins.  “It has really helped me, and the kids that have followed, to open doors and realize what our potentials are.”

That potential certainly played out in last spring's BW opera production of the Hansel & Gretel, when Svette "stole the show" playing the witch (pictured below) according to a Cleveland Classical review.