At Camp Kesem, Alexis Impacts Kids Dealing with Parent's Cancer

July 1, 2026

A person smiling outdoors, wearing glasses, a Camp Kesem shirt, and blue shorts, surrounded by green trees.

For kids dealing with a parent’s cancer diagnosis, having a place to go where they feel understood can make all the difference. Alexis, the outreach coordinator and former camper with Camp Kesem UNL, knows this as well as anyone.  

“My involvement with Camp Kesem started when I was in high school,” Alexis says. “My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer, and that next summer my mom sent my siblings and me to Kesem. Being there with all these people who have gone through the same experience, you start to really feel the love.”  

Camp Kesem is a student-run, weeklong summer camp for kids affected by a parent’s cancer diagnosis. The national non-profit makes the camp completely free for families, and much of the staff for the local camp are Husker students who, like Alexis, were once campers themselves.  

 By the time she started college, there was never a question as to whether she’d return to Kesem as a staff member.  

“When I got to UNL, I already knew I'd stay involved. Today, I’ve moved into an outreach position where I'm working to get more kids like me into the Camp Kesem family and grow into that loving community.” 

Alexis' journey from camper to leader hasn’t been a lonely one — she’s made it right alongside one of her best friends and the current director of Camp Kesem at UNL.  

Two smiling teens covered in shaving cream during an outdoor activity, surrounded by others.
Alexis (left) and Ella Johnson (right) met at Camp Kesem as campers in high school. Today, the two Huskers are in leadership roles helping kids whose parents were also diagnosed with cancer. And, they're still best friends. 

“Ella Johnson has truly been my day one camp ride or die,” Alexis smiles. “We sat together as two awkward girls on the bus on our way to our first camp and we've been best friends since. Today, she is such an amazing camp director and it’s so fun to work alongside her all these years later. I’m so thankful that Kesem brought us together.”  

Under their leadership, Camp Kesem has jumped from 65 to 96 campers over the past couple of summers. Alexis, often the first person to reach out to campers, cherishes the growth she gets to witness in each one.  

“Throughout the week you get to see each kid progress from being nervous and shy into somebody so outgoing. I’ve been there myself — I definitely wouldn’t be who I am today without Camp Kesem.”

Alexis Montecuollo is a senior microbiology major from Lincoln, NE.