It’s said the best educational experiences are those in which both the students and teacher learn. There’s no better example of the wisdom of that truism than the Law and Leadership day camp that Queen’s Law operated this summer while working in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston & Area (BGC) and the Kingston Police Department. “The camp was a huge success, a great experience for everyone involved,” said Heather Cole, Law’96, Assistant Dean of Students.

“Our goal was to reach young people early, demystify the law, and demonstrate its capacity to bring about positive change. We wanted to show the participants that people working in the legal system were once just like them. The camp provided a fantastic opportunity for community outreach for Queen’s Law. Our hope is that we made an impact by providing encouragement to youth who otherwise might never have considered a career in law.”

Cole offered special thanks for the camp’s success to Executive Director Harold Parsons and Special Events and Volunteer Services Manager Kori Cembal of the BGC, and to Kingston Police Staff Sergeant Jody Armstrong and Youth Program Officer Constable Carolyn Gauthier. This foursome led the way in securing an $83,320 Ontario government grant to fund the camp for two years. “The Law and Leadership camp is a great example of the good things community partnerships can accomplish,” said Cembal. 

Staff Sergeant Armstrong echoed those sentiments. “The camp was a great example of the ongoing collaboration amongst community partners working towards community safety and wellbeing,” he said. 

More than 200 youngsters, ages nine to 12, most of whom were from Kingston’s predominantly blue-collar North End neighbourhood attended the free camp. Five Queen’s Law student counsellors supervised activities for three days each week at the new Rideau Heights Community Centre and at the law school, while students from the Kingston Police Department’s Youth-In-Police-Initiative guided the campers at other times. 

Some of the programming the Queen’s Law student counsellors organized was educational. The campers engaged with and learned from their counsellors, as well as some lawyers and judges – many of them local alumni – who generously volunteered their expertise, time, and energies for some sessions. 

“This camp was really cool. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot,” said 11-year-old Jake Hèbert-Potter. The grade 7 student served as a member of the Crown’s “team” in one of the Friday-morning moot court proceedings that a highlight of the schedule for each week’s camp. With police Constable Gauthier and the camp counsellors among the interested spectators, the pint-sized fledgling prosecutor took his turn peppering the defendant with pointed questions. While it was great fun, it was also a wonderful learning experience for one and all. 

Explained camp counsellor Eli Berg, Law’20, one of the camp counsellors, “Whenever we explained how a trial works and what the various participants do, we asked the kids what questions they wanted to ask. Often, they had totally unexpected perspectives. What they came up with sometimes caused me to stop, step back, and look at the situation in a whole new way. I learned, too. It was a great experience.”