I was fortunate enough to spend this past summer at ILTC, and to say the least, it was an experience of a lifetime. I had gone to CLTC the year prior and loved it. I had heard so much about ILTC, yet I hadn’t known what to expect. These three weeks turned out to be better than anything I could have imagined.

For those of you who don’t know, ILTC 2025 experienced a power outage, and with that, the loss of running water. Now imagine 300 teenagers going days without electricity and running water. Awful, right? But it wasn’t. In fact, this quickly turned into my favorite part of my summer.

Staff quickly adapted and worked to put together a new plan. We got to spend the weekend at a hotel, visit a baseball stadium, go to historic synagogues, and SO MUCH MORE. Not only that, but we continued with our blueprint groups, not missing out on any learning. My favorite part of this, however, wasn't the places we got to see or even the trips to Wegman’s; it was seeing how we all turned things around.

On Shabbat, we traded out our dresses for pajamas, and we took pictures on our digital cameras, making sure the moment wouldn’t go uncaptured. Staff put together an amazing meal with food we probably wouldn’t have experienced without the outage. Thankfully, we even got shabbos cake! Afterwards, we had Shabbat services like no other. The following night, as we welcomed in the new week with Havdalah, we saved up solar power to light the Perlman tree. Seeing all of our faces light up with the surprise of the Perlman tree being lit was such a magical moment and definitely a highlight of my time at ILTC. Throughout the power outage, we all worked together and turned it around to be the most amazing, unforgettable experience of my life.

I look back and reminisce on my ILTC experience all the time, thinking about the things I did and the people I met. ILTC truly was the time of my life, and my experience is something that no other ILTC will get to have. So while I wouldn’t wish a power outage on anyone, this one truly changed my life for the better.