A Computer Science Major Applies Her Skills at HoneyRock

Meet Christiana Hannam

By HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

October 7^th, 2021

Christiana Hannam finds rest amid busy days in a specialty role at HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development.

This past summer, Wheaton College sophomore Christiana Hannam, a Computer Science major, spent her summer at HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development serving as the IT intern, where she worked on networking and Internet connectivity issues. She also helped in the office on different administrative projects and sold HoneyRock gear and coffee in the Beehive store. Hannam spoke to us about the juxtapositions of working with computers in the Northwoods and finding rest amidst the fast thrum of camp life.

A Computer Science Major Applies Her Skills at HoneyRock

You’re a computer science major. Why did you choose to work at HoneyRock?

I wanted to do something with my major, so it was great to be the Information Technology intern. I learned so much. HoneyRock is not just a summer camp; it’s also a campus of Wheaton College. There are undergrad students that take classes up here in the Northwoods, there is a full grad program, and students need Internet to do their work. HoneyRock’s Lakeside and Hillside classrooms are equipped for remote learning with big TVs and monitors, so the goal was to have Internet in specific places where students would need it.

It can be a big debate. HoneyRock is “a place set apart.” Does “a place set apart” still have WiFi? But it’s necessary. Most of my work for IT involved getting Internet connections up and running in different places across camp. HoneyRock is still in a very barebones state in the networking world, so I got to see really old technology, as well as really new technology with the installation of fiber optics this summer. I also got to problem solve: Setting up a network in the Northwoods has unique challenges since Internet signals need to pass from building to building and tall trees tend to block the signals.

What’s surprised you about your time at HoneyRock?

I was nervous coming to HoneyRock because even though I’m athletic, I’m not a super outdoorsy person. The idea of surviving in the wilderness on a wilderness trip made me nervous. I did get to try some of the activity areas. I rock climbed, canoed, and went on a few trail rides. I got to visit and spend time at different camp sites, such as Black Bear and Doe's Acres. I also generally spent time outside as much as I could after work, sitting out on the dock, star-gazing on Ski Hill after a bonfire, and playing recreational sports with friends and co-workers. I did not do HoneyRock's staple experience of a wilderness trip, but I nevertheless got to sit and experience creation like I've never been able to before. I was kind of relieved at the beginning of the summer when I learned I wouldn't be required to go on a trip. But by the end of the summer, I was actually kind of bummed that I didn't get to go on one. And that's kind of a big progression in my eyes in my attitude towards the outdoors!

Can you describe a challenge you experienced?

One of the office tasks this summer was to work with the “Invite a Friend” promotion. This was a new thing for HoneyRock. If a camper also invited a new-to-HoneyRock family to send a child to camp, then both they and their friend would get $30 in their Beehive Store card. It became a project for me to go through the list of campers to see whether they qualified for the awards and then actually apply the funds to their accounts.

It felt a little monotonous and repetitive to work through the challenge of Excel spreadsheets for hours each day, especially in the context of camp where everyone around me was enjoying spending time outside, and I’m sitting in an office and looking at a computer screen. But I have so much respect for people who do little unseen things. In my work, I wanted to give those spreadsheets purpose. Those mattered. They made a camper’s day, and they really mattered for their time at camp and for their enjoyment.

What was your hope in coming to HoneyRock?

I was really hoping for rest and peace. The community, the fun and games outside, the skills I learned with John Welsh (HoneyRock’s Business Operations Director) in IT were all wonderful, undeserved blessings from the Lord, but what I really was hoping for was deep rest in God. With all the turmoil from a year of COVID and the exhaustion from schoolwork, I was just hoping to find rest and contentment in the Lord at HoneyRock.

That’s interesting. You were hoping for rest, but HoneyRock tends to require high energy during its summer camp season. Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes, I have. I’ve found peace amidst the work I’m doing. I think HoneyRock’s emphasis on implementing spiritual disciplines into our workdays has been a huge help. Doing Morning Watch (HoneyRock’s name for a quiet time with the Lord), spending time in the Word and praying and vocalizing: “Thank you Lord for waking me up this morning, thank you for this beautiful day, thank you that you will be at work in this day.” This allowed me to intentionally open my hands to God, releasing the worries of the day, and, with the Lord at the front of my mind, let my work flow from his strength rather than my own.