Each year, the camp enhances functional independence, builds confidence and sustains meaningful connections for campers and their families.

Since 2015, Quinnipiac’s School of Health Sciences faculty and student volunteers have brought their passion, skills and love of learning to this annual transformative experience.

As part of a collaborative team, Quinnipiac physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) program members work with Camp No Limits physical therapists, occupational therapists and prosthetists as well as teen and adult mentors who share campers’ lived experiences.

Camp No Limits faculty co-advisers are Valerie Strange, clinical professor of occupational therapy, and Maria Cusson, clinical associate professor of physical therapy and director of clinical education for the physical therapy program. Each fall, they select six exceptional student leaders, three from each program, to organize and lead specialized camp programming.

The student leaders also help to recruit the camp’s many OT and PT student volunteers, which numbered 22 this year. Strange said Camp No Limits offers tremendous opportunities for members of the Quinnipiac community to learn from the experiences of campers and expertise of camp mentors.

“Having these experts with lived experiences helps me to recognize how to better serve, so you can imagine what it does for the students,” Strange said. “It increases their passion and understanding about the client experience. We’re not the experts — they are telling us what they need. It’s a really beautiful, authentic way to learn.”

For Cusson, some of the most rewarding aspects include seeing students evolve throughout the experience and witnessing the profound impact camp can have on them.

“This camp really hits you in your heart. We have four alumni who still come to camp every year — two PT’s and two OT’s — and one of the prosthetists is an alumnus,” said Cusson. “From a learning perspective, what’s so unique about this camp is that students get a holistic view of what life is like for the campers and their families, and the ability to have an impact on that is really very special.”

Student leader Luca D’Ambrosio ’24, DPT ’27, said he loved volunteering last year and felt extremely lucky to be a part of this year’s student leadership team.

“We truly build a family here,” said D’Ambrosio. “I’d say there’s about 50% of campers I know already from last year, and it’s great to be able to continue building those relationships.”

In the Recreation and Wellness Center on the Mount Carmel Campus, PT student leaders and volunteers joined campers and their parents in navigating obstacle courses, racing through relay games and taking on strength conditioning challenges.

“We’re playing games, but we’re also working with them on balance, gait mechanics and getting them moving to get comfortable with a new prosthetic, or if it’s an older prosthetic, making sure they’re comfortable with using it correctly,” said D’Ambrosio.

Parents Dominic and Jacquelyn Zeccola of Westchester County, New York returned to Camp No Limits at Quinnipiac for a second year with their daughter, Josephine, 10, and her younger sister Rosalie, 7. Rosalie enjoyed games and activities for siblings led by camp volunteers.

“Every moment here is amazing,” said Dominic Zeccola, who joined Josephine’s team for relay races and to tackle an obstacle course. “As long as they’re happy, that’s my main concern.”

“We love it. It’s so special for her to be around other people just like her,” added Jacquelyn Zeccola. “She loves working with the students, especially Sarah — she just loves her.”

That would be Camp No Limits student leader Sarah Springer ’26, OTD ’28, who first met Josephine as a volunteer last year.

“My favorite part is seeing the relationships between all of the campers and the mentors and our student volunteers flourish from the beginning to the end, and the campers being able to open up just by meeting people that are like them,” said Springer. “It’s a whole new world for them, so it’s magical to see that.”

This year, Camp No Limits at Quinnipiac also introduced a new element: Teen Day.

Opening activities at the School of Health Sciences on the North Haven Campus were designed exclusively for those 13 and up and included high-tech driving simulators, immersive virtual reality experiences and stress-management workshops for campers and their families.

“I’m looking forward to meeting people who are just like me and share the same experience,” said Maryland resident Andres Greenman, 17.

While the Greenman family has experienced Camp No Limits in their home state for the past two years, dad Seth Greenman said they chose Quinnipiac this year in part due to Teen Day.

“He has his driver’s permit, so he’s been very much looking forward to the driving simulator,” Seth Greenman said. “Camp No Limits has always been a very supportive environment with exciting opportunities, and here is no different. It allows him to explore things in a way that’s comfortable with other people that have those experiences, which I think is huge. It provides that sense of safety and security and being able to challenge himself but also learn from others.”

Georgie Morris’ journey with Camp No Limits began back in 2015 as a young camper at Quinnipiac. Today, the 19-year-old from Old Lyme, Connecticut, credits those transformative summers with inspiring her career path. She’s excited to be pursuing her certification as an occupational therapy assistant.

“A lot of the students say that we’re the inspiration, but I think they are, too, because not a lot of people know about our community or are knowledgeable about our community. To see people who are like that, who are curious about my life and want to know what brought me here, is awesome,” Morris said.

Morris also continues to keep in touch with a Quinnipiac graduate and Camp No Limits volunteer with whom she first clicked eight summers ago. This year, Morris will be attending her wedding.

“In 2018, I met an OT student named Nicole, and we hit it off immediately, almost like siblings. She took an interest in me and my specific story and has supported me and my family and my life ever since. I can thank camp for that connection,” said Morris.

Melissa Frank ’18, MOT ’20 volunteered with Camp No Limits for three years at Quinnipiac. After graduation, Frank connected with the mission so deeply that she went on to join Camp No Limits as OT Team Leader. She’s currently helping out at camps across the country.

“Each camp allows you to connect with kids in a different way and brings a different experience,” Frank said. “It’s really cool to be part of this camp family that gives kids a place to just be kids and just play, do what they want to do and help them figure it out.”

From great volunteer memories like an impromptu baseball lesson on the York Hill Campus with a camper who wanted to figure out how to swing a bat, to returning to the School of Health Sciences for Teen Day this year, Frank said Camp No Limits at Quinnipiac has a special place in her heart.

“Quinnipiac is really unique. This is the only Camp No Limits in the country that’s held on a college campus. We always have students come to our camps, but this is the only one that is really being run by the students,” said Frank.

As the only program offered in Connecticut, Quinnipiac’s on-campus, overnight, four-day Camp No Limits experience supported 15 campers and their families this year.

“We are very proud that we are still the only university that hosts Camp No Limits,” said Cusson. “We’re very proud to partner with them, and we’re very grateful for Quinnipiac’s institutional support in allowing us to continue to hold this camp.” 

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