Junior Counselors

Junior Counselors

The Junior Counselor (JC) Program at Transcending Adolescence is a peer-led, year-round leadership initiative that cultivates the next generation of changemakers in our community. JCs are returning campers who step into leadership roles to support and shape the Resilience Retreat experience from start to finish.

Meet our team!

Through this unique program, Junior Counselors:

Co-create camp—collaborating year-round to plan activities, welcome new campers, and ensure our retreat remains youth-centered and empowering.
Dive deep into our SPEAR framework—exploring Support, Physical Recreation, Empowerment, Advocacy, and Reflection to grow as individuals and leaders.
Lead with heart—offering mentorship, modeling vulnerability and strength, and creating spaces of safety and joy.
Amplify our mission by embodying the resilience we strive to instill in every camper.

As catalysts for transformation, JCs don’t just grow—they lead, inspire, and uplift our entire community.

Dante

(He/It)

Lead Junior Counselor

Dante brings enthusiasm and dedication to the Transcending Adolescence leadership team as a Junior Counselor. A recent graduate of River City Science Academy, Dante earned distinction as a member of the National Honors Society and achieved an impressive 3.6 unweighted and 4.0 weighted GPA. Currently pursuing an Associate’s degree at St. Johns River State College, he is a full-time honors student balancing 13 credit hours with his leadership responsibilities.

As a Junior Counselor, Dante actively supports the daily operations of camp programming, helping ensure that campers enjoy a safe and empowering experience. His role involves supervising activities, assisting in policy implementation, and fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment.

In addition to his work at Transcending Adolescence, Dante serves as a Youth Leader at JASMYN, where he develops activities and promotes positive relationships within the LGBTQ+ community. His background also includes volunteer experience with HCA Inpatient Rehabilitation, demonstrating his commitment to community service.

Outside of his professional and academic pursuits, Dante has cultivated a range of skills through extracurricular involvement, including leadership roles in the Creative Writing Club, Chess Club, Gardening Club, and Theater Club. His technical expertise is bolstered by certifications in ITF+ and HTML/CSS, highlighting his diverse skill set and proactive approach to learning.

Dante’s blend of academic achievement, leadership experience, and community engagement makes him a vital part of the TA mission to build resilience in trans and nonbinary youth.

Daniella

(She/Her)

Junior Counselor

Daniella is a Junior Counselor at TA who graduated from Santa Fe High School in 2024 and is
currently enrolled at Florida State College at Jacksonville, working towards an associates
degree in hospitality. She has continuously attended the Resilience Retreats since they first
started, helping her to come out of her shell and become more confident. Daniella hopes to
inspire campers to find out more about themselves and come out of their own shells. As well as
this, she hopes to keep fostering the inclusive environment at camp and help camp run
smoothly. In her free time, she likes to play guitar, listen to music, and play video games.

Magic

(Ask/They)

Junior Counselor

Magic is able to balance a variety of tasks in both the short and long term, focusing on school, work and volunteering at the same time. They bring a comforting presence that can help people calm down and open up about issues. They are able to engage and focus wholly with great attentiveness. They have a deep passion for the outdoors, which can be seen in their hobbies such as swimming, biking, and exploring nature. Magic energy and enthusiasm for camp shines through every activity and helps create a space where others feel at ease and connect more deeply with themselves and nature.

Rory

(He/Him)

Junior Counselor

Rory is a former TARR camper and an enthusiastic member of the Junior Counselor

team! His passion for creating safe spaces for trans and nonbinary individuals have led

him to become a part of TA’s leadership. He is proud to be a senior in the International

Baccalaureate program as well as a member of the National Honors Society, and will

attend Florida State University in the fall of 2025 to pursue an undergraduate degree in

psychology. Additionally, his hard work has earned him a 4.0 unweighted and 4.9

weighted GPA. Rory’s roles as president and vice president, respectively, of the Spanish

Honors Society and Thespian Club at his school have aided his leadership skills as well

as his dedication to communication and creativity. Additionally, his consistent

involvement in Read Squad, an afterschool program dedicated to helping elementary

schoolers learn to read, demonstrates his devotion to community service and youth

empowerment.

MK

(She/Her)

Junior Counselor

MK brings her unique and creative visions on top of her enthusiasm to Transcending Adolescence, stemming from previously participating in Resilience Retreats as a camper. She is a recent Wildwood School graduate, where she achieved a 3.8 unweighted GPA. She carries her passion for fostering a tight-knit community with her to Mount Holyoke College, where she pursues a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Physics with Honors.

At Mount Holyoke, MK serves on the board for three organizations, all while balancing academics and leadership responsibilities at Transcending Adolescence. She previously served as an Event Coordinator for Gender+, the College's only Trans-led official student organization for transgender individuals, and plans on spearheading the organization as Co-Chair to help Gender+ reach its full potential. MK is also the co-founder of another Mount Holyoke organization, UltraSonic, a space dedicated to fostering community around music and the arts.

As a Junior Counselor, MK helps design fun and engaging activities for campers to participate in during Resilience Retreats. She also offers her expertise in Adobe Suite and programming languages such as Java and Python, valuable assets to Transcending Adolescence. With the help of the rest of Junior Counselor team and leadership, she promotes Transcending Adolescence to potential campers and supporters, previously representing the organization at SOGIEcon 2025.