Kat Comes Back to Camp

Katherine (Kat) Winant is one of the many success stories for the Diabetes Society camps, a walking testament that the programs make a lasting difference in the lives of children living with diabetes.

"When my parents sent me to camp in 1985, I doubt they thought I’d take it this far," she says.

Kat was brought on in April 2006 as the Diabetes Society’s new Camp Director, helping oversee the 13 camps that the Diabetes Society currently runs throughout the state of California.

"I feel so lucky to get to have my dream job--going to camp," she says.

Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in October 1984 at the age of 4, Kat began attending the Diabetes Society’s San Jose day camp the next summer. At the age of 7 she also started attending Camp de los Niños in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

"I always loved camp--I would get so excited each spring when the application packet came. I was usually packed a week or two early!"

As a teenager she went to Camp DJ Sequoia Lake and was a counselor-in-training at Camp de los Niños. As an adult, Kat became a counselor at both of the camps she had attended as a child and teenager.

"I never missed a summer," she says. "Even when school or work commitments meant I couldn’t do both camps, I kept going to at least one, and then would drive up from Southern California to visit the other for at least a day or two."

After moving back to the Bay Area in May 2005, Kat learned there was a position open in the camp department.

"I called Tom Smith, the director of programs, about every two weeks until I finally got to come in for an interview. I must have overwhelmed his voicemail inbox!"

Tom Smith says, "When she was about 15, Kat told me, 'Tom, I want your job!’"

Kat says she does not remember saying that but admits she has always loved camp and embraced the Diabetes Society’s mission.

"I’ve worked with a lot of other camping programs, but the Diabetes Society’s camps are the nearest and dearest to my heart," she says. "I tell a lot of people, particularly newly diagnosed families, about what a great organization it is and how much of a positive impact diabetes camps have had on me."

Kat’s experience included a lot more than learning about diabetes and how to manage it.

Being around other diabetics is huge and really helps if you’re like me and have no diabetic family members or diabetic friends outside of camp. Some of the friends I made as camper are still my good friends today and feel much the same way I do. I love the sense of community there--unlike other camps, at diabetes camp there’s a sense of camaraderie, and kids tend to come back year after year...although I may be an extreme example!"

Kat will be directing all the remaining Diabetes Society camps this summer, and most likely, for years to come.

"I actually even planned my wedding and honeymoon so that I could still be available for camp!" she says.