Brandon Gomes Toste arm wrestles Maverick during a session of the Creative Discovery Museum’s Friends’ Discovery Camps. Photo by Angela Foster.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga rising senior Brandon Gomes Toste has spent the last few weeks constantly losing arm wrestling matches, swimming in the sun and taking trips to see giraffes.
Along with a cohort of psychology students, Toste has worked at the Creative Discovery Museum’s Friends’ Discovery Camps and the Chattanooga Zoo’s Camp ZooAbility.
Campers at both camps have a variety of physical, developmental or intellectual disabilities. The Friends’ Discovery Camps are tailored for younger children, while Camp ZooAbility helps build independence and confidence for teenagers with disabilities.
At the Friends’ Discovery Camps, Toste met a boy named Maverick who has Down syndrome. Over the three weeks at the camps, Maverick didn’t lose a single arm wrestling match, and his bond with Toste continued to grow.
“He (Maverick) had a bracelet for me that second to last week,” Toste recalled. “I forgot to bring it the first two days. I brought it that Wednesday and he loved it. That third week, which was the last week (of that camp), every day, he kept asking me about the bracelet and kept making jokes.
“At the end of the week, on Friday, we write letters and we start doing autographs. I wrote this very heartfelt letter and he’s a sweet kid. He’s really nice. He does take my affirmation very seriously. I wrote a whole letter saying I don’t care what you call me. The one thing that I won’t ever forget is you calling me my big buddy.”
The theatre acting major and psychology minor from California hopes to make a long-lasting impact on his “buddies.”
“They’re sweet, they’re gentle, they’re nice and they’re compassionate,” Toste said. “They talk to you. They love you. They really want to spend time with you.
“They show you a light that you’ve never seen.”
Psychology student Joy David works with a Friends’ Discovery Camps camper at the Creative Discovery Museum.
Elaine Gossett, who oversees both camps, serves as the therapeutic recreation manager for the city of Chattanooga.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Gossett explained. “We get amazing mentors from UTC and then they also get real-world experience working with individuals who have disabilities.
“One of the coolest things about that is the relationships. Not only the relationships students form with each other, but the fact that they get to make a huge difference in not only the lives of an individual with a disability, but also their entire family.”
After the camp day ends, Gossett reviews areas for improvement as well as what went well during the day. She hopes to offer a guiding hand to students who wish to advance their careers in the field.
“We all have such awesome potential,” she said. “Sometimes we need a little bit of guidance or a little bit of a pep talk to say you’re doing a great job.
“They not only get to hear the excitement of their camper, but they get to see any of the ups and downs or struggles and accomplishments that their camper has made throughout the week.”
UTC Associate Lecturer of Psychology and Practicum Coordinator Libby Byers worked at the same summer camps in 2007 as a University student.
“There’s a need,” Byers said. “They need individuals to help as camp counselors and people to support. They also need people who have knowledge of certain types of disabilities or individuals who are neurodivergent or typical. Our students have that because they’ve gained knowledge in the courses they’ve taken.
“It just makes sense that we have worked in unison with them. They have a need and we have a need. Let’s come together and let’s make this work.”
The Creative Discovery Museum and Chattanooga Zoo are ideal locations for students to apply what they have learned at UTC, Byers said.
“They use every bit of knowledge that they’ve gained when they are working within these particular conditions,” Byers said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s easy because it’s a kid-friendly location. It just is more appealing to the kids.”
Joy David, a rising senior from Chattanooga, is a psychology major with a minor in child and family studies. She currently works as a registered behavioral technician and hopes to become a school psychologist.
“I really love people,” David said. “I love talking to people. I love conversations with people. I think whatever I do in the future, it will be with people. Kids are such a vulnerable population and being able to in any way positively shape a kid’s life is incredibly worth it.”
She said that the tools she’s learning while working at these camps are preparing her for her career after UTC.
Being able to see kids flourish after having a hard time when they first start the camp has allowed David to see the impact of her work.
“By the end of the week, they’re your friend. It makes the world,” she said.
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Friends’ Discovery Camps and Camp ZooAbility photo gallery by Angela Foster
