As a special thank you to our donors, we asked the 2025 Encampers to reflect on their EFC experience. In this sampling, the young people express the impact of the Encampment in their own words.

The last week of the 2025 Encampment started with two inspiring field trips. On Monday, the Encampers traveled to Los Angeles to meet with the Community Coalition in South Central LA. Tuesday found them back in Oxnard at Pyramid Flowers, for a powerful opportunity to explore the intersections of labor, immigration, and environmental justice through a unique lens: the floral industry. Encampers, staff, alums and guests came together to individually and collectively to “Name the Moment” in the 2025 InterGen Program.

The second week of the 2025 Encampment was packed with varied learning activities and field trips. The Encampers went deeper into the topic of immigration, asking the question “How did we get here?” and looking at U.S. immigration history to provide the understanding and tools to change the future. They explored key historical events and policies that have shaped immigration in the United States and identified major themes and patterns over time. They learned more about farmworkers through in-depth conversations and experiences at Pyramid Flowers and Rio Farm and journeyed to Limuw Island with representatives of the Chumash people who shared their history, relationship to the land, and ongoing cultural preservation.

The 2025 Encampment has begun and this post describes in words, pictures and video the first week. The Encampers learned about each other and formed community agreements. After a few days of getting to know each other, it was time to dive into the communities we will be learning about and working with. On July 3, they met with local educators and community organizers in Oxnard and Santa Barbara who are actively engaged in issues of education equity, cultural preservation, and youth empowerment.

If you are curious to know what the Encampers are learning in our “Justice Knows No Borders” summer program, join us the weekend of July 18–20 for our in-person InterGen Program or on Saturday, July 19, for two virtual sessions via Zoom. If you want to be inspired by this year’s Encampers and their commitment to making a better world and make a difference in their lives by sharing your experiences, then join us! 

What do “borders” have to do with democracy and the development of a new generation of leaders and activists? While immigrants, in particular, have much to fear in the current political climate, borders can represent not only national boundaries, but also the invisible lines between schools, communities, identities, and even ways of thinking. To have a vibrant multicultural democracy, justice must move beyond these borders.