About Camp Mystic 

For nearly a century, Camp Mystic has been a home away from home for girls across the country. Located in the Hill Country near Hunt, Texas on the Guadalupe River and founded in 1926 by University of Texas coach Edward “Doc” Stewart, its mission is to foster personal growth and compassion in a safe and supportive environment. The non-denominational Christian camp encourages personal development rooted in Christian values. 

Every girl who steps foot inside the symbolic green gates of Mystic is transformed and impacted by the love and kindness that counselors and fellow campers share with one another.  

Camp Mystic’s community includes many current and former Hockaday students. Many return to camp year after year, carrying their camp memories with them long after summer ends. 

Lulu Sporl 

For the last eight summers, sophomore Lulu Sporl has spent June at Camp Mystic. Sporl said the tribe competitions, notably the canoe race, were among her favorite memories from camp. The boat race is an important  Mystic event where the Tonkawas and Kiowas, the two tribes at Mystic, compete for tribe points. 

Sporl also shared that out of all the activities she took this summer, yoga was her favorite. At Camp Mystic, yoga is a popular activity known by campers for the fun partner pose challenges, smoothie making and meditation sessions.  

It is the people, though, that she cherishes the most.  

“My counselor was studying to become a teacher, so I offered to tutor her,” Sporl said. “I had so much fun hanging out in my cabin working with her and laughing with my friends.”  

Sporl said she carries the camp mantra, “be ye kind one to another,” in her heart year-round. 

“I find myself being the best version of myself when I’m at camp,” Sporl said. “So, I try to channel that person and bring her back to Hockaday with me.” 

Elena Zeballos 

Elena Zeballos ‘24 is a third-generation camper and grew up knowing she would one day call the camp her summer home. She attended Camp Mystic for nine years as a camper and as a counselor in 2024 and 2025. She largely credits Camp Mystic for shaping the person she is today.  

“I think Mystic has completely changed my life,” Zeballos said. “Once you’re there, it is just so magical. It gives you the safe space to discover who you want to be and who you can be.” 

For Zeballos, Camp Mystic was a place where she found lifelong friends who supported her through high school.  

“I went through some hard times through high school, and my Mystic sisters were the first people to show up at my house or give me a call,” Zeballos said. “That was the one place that I really, truly felt safe, and it really strengthened my faith as well.”

Katie Croft 

For Dr. Katie Croft, Upper School science teacher, Mystic runs in her family.  She attended for twelve years, including one year as a counselor. Her mom and both of her aunts attended Mystic, and Croft also sent both of her daughters there.  

“When I look back and think about Mystic and what it means to me, the first thing that comes to mind is friendship,” Croft said. “The friendships that I formed there are unparalleled to any other experience I’ve had in life.” 

In addition to the friendships she formed at Mystic, Croft also believes that the camp shares many similarities with Hockaday, namely the four cornerstones: character, courtesy, scholarship and athletics. 

“There is so much that overlaps between Hockaday and Camp Mystic,” Croft said. “Obviously, the all-girls setting, but more importantly, I think Mystic aligns with our four cornerstones.” 

Croft explained how growing up she always wanted to be like the tribe officers, the eldest campers who lead the younger girls.  

“I looked up to those older girls, and they were such incredible role models,” Croft said. “It’s the same way at Hockaday. You get to grow up looking up towards these incredible role models of women leaders that are so strong and powerful.”  

In her final year as a camper, Croft received the “M” award, given to campers who exemplify the qualities of a true Mystic girl. Each girl who receives an M is voted on by the counselors, making this award a huge honor and a Mystic milestone.  

“I was looking at the qualities of an M girl,” Croft said. “One that stuck out to me was ‘An M girl is always human, falling down, picking herself up, brushing herself off and beginning all over again,’ and I just love that quote.”  

Jessie Moran 

Senior Jessie Moran, who attended Camp Mystic from third to eighth grade, with the exception of 2020, said that her experiences left a lasting mark. Moran credits her passion for theater, songwriting and singing to Camp Mystic.  

“My favorite memory at Camp Mystic was when I performed for the first time ever,” Moran said. “I sang a song that I wrote for the first time, and I was really nervous. That has stuck with me for a really long time, and I think about it a lot. It just reminds me of how much Mystic has shaped me as a person.” 

Moran said she decided to study abroad going into ninth grade.  

“I had an opportunity to go study French in Quebec during the same time,” Moran said. “I guess I was kind of like, ‘Oh well, I’ll just go do that because Mystic is always going to be there, and I can always go back if I want to.’” 

Her friendships from Mystic have endured.  

“[Although I] stopped going, I still keep up with those people,” Moran said. “It was such an amazing community. It was just a big family, and we had little sisses.” 

Moran was always uncertain about where she stood in her faith, but Mystic offered her a welcoming place to explore.  

“It’s a place where you can learn a lot of valuable lessons, and it obviously has a religious aspect too,” Moran said. “From what I remember, every single time we talked about stuff like that, it was always leading with love and community. We never treated anyone else differently.” 

Social Impact Bazaar Flood Relief 

Camp Mystic has long been a place of growth, friendship and joy for its campers and counselors. In a tragic turn of events in July of 2025, rising waters from the Guadalupe River swept through the camp, taking the lives of young campers and counselors.  

“It took a day for it to set in,” Moran said. “My heart broke because that is the place that I loved so much, even though I hadn’t been there in years.” 

The devastating loss has broken the hearts of people all over the country, and at Hockaday, the community has come together to reflect, grieve and support one another. 

This summer, seniors Cortney Buford and Sarah Moskowitz collaborated to hold a bazaar with all profits going to flood relief. Melanie Robinson, Director of the Dr. William B. Dean Institute for Social Impact, helped them organize it.  

“It came from the heart of two seniors to see out into the world that there was a need and to feel empowered to address it,” Robinson said, “In part because of what it means to the Hockaday community, but also in part of what it means to be human.” 

Robinson hadn’t heard of Camp Mystic before the floods but felt deeply moved by the tragedy and wanted to partner in helping however she could. 

“Mystic just means a lot both to the Hockaday community and the broader neighborhood that Hockaday sits in,” Robinson said. “Everybody in Hockaday, from administration to students, was really supportive in organizing it.” 

Robinson believes that the flood bazaar was important to the mission of Hockaday’s Institute for Social Impact. 

“It goes back to the heart of what we are trying to do here with social impact,” Robinson said. “It goes back to the lives of purpose and impact. No matter where you are, no matter where you end up as a Hockaday student, you have the potential to make an impact.”