MAY 5 • 2022 | 39

more about mental health 
conditions and their diagno-
ses. It led her to pursue an 
outpatient setting, where she 
continues to work today as a 
mental health therapist.
“I primarily work with 
young adults struggling 
with various life stressors 
through the lens of anxiety 
and depression,” she says of 
her work’s focus. Szczotka is 
driven by the ability to pro-
vide a safe place for individ-
uals to share their thoughts 
without judgment.

BECOMING A MOM 
IN THE PANDEMIC
Now, Szczotka, who is a 
dual citizen of the United 
States and Australia, where 
she was born, balances work 
with the journey of being 
a new mom. Her daughter 
Orli, almost 2, taught her 
the most important life les-
sons yet that she shares with 
others on her Instagram, 
@rediscovering_ronit. 
“When our daughter 
arrived, my husband, 
Michael, seamlessly stepped 
into dad mode as if he were 
born to do it,” Szczotka 
recalls, “whereas I, on the 
other hand, took some time 
to find my footing.”
Szczotka struggled with 
breastfeeding, something 
she thought would be “the 
most natural thing in the 
world,” because her body 
was still physically healing 
from the pregnancy. She 
also felt the first symptoms 
of postpartum anxiety, a 
mental health condition she 
says isn’t as well known or 
understood as postpartum 
depression.
Finally, after postpar-
tum anxiety had begun to 
interfere with her ability to 
enjoy life’s most precious 
moments, such as a birth-
day party for her daughter, 
Szczotka sought out help. “I 

went far too long without 
asking for help because as 
a mental health therapist, I 
was like, ‘I have all the tools 
I need to combat my own 
mental health,’” she recalls.
Healing both physically 
and mentally, Szczotka says 
she’s now reached a point 
where she feels more con-
nected to motherhood while 
also achieving work-life bal-
ance. She and Michael are 
set to welcome their second 
child in October and are 
thrilled to do so.

FINDING BALANCE 
IN LOVE AND LIFE
Szczotka, who was recent-
ly featured in pictures for 
a new JFamily Facebook 
group, has also learned dif-
ferent ways to find balance 
in the interfaith relationship 
she shares with her hus-
band. While their children 
are being raised Jewish, 
they continue to celebrate 
the cherished traditions of 
Michael’s Catholic upbring-
ing and family life.
“I personally love 
Christmas,” Szczotka says. 
“For us, it’s about coming 
together and having a tree and 
looking at lights. It’s the tra-
dition we’ve held for 15 years 
together [of being in a rela-
tionship since high school].”
In her spare time, 
Szczotka enjoys the simple 
things in life, like going on 
walks with Orli or heading 
to brunch with her girl-
friends. She also enjoys bar-
becuing with Michael in the 
summer.
“To be honest, I’m just 
winging it every day,” she 
admits. “But something 
someone told me when I 
was in the thick of it was 
remembering that the sun 
will always set on the hard-
est days and a new day will 
quickly follow. And it has 
stuck with me.” 

S

tarting today, Tamarack 
Camps is hosting a com-
munity wide book drive 
to bring the gift of reading to 
campers. Thanks to the support of 
Applebaum Family Philanthropy’s 
Compass Fund, Tamarack Camps 
is creating unique lending libraries 
and additional educational pro-
gramming this summer. 
Each lending library will be 
dedicated to a specific camper pop-
ulation (starting with second grade 
and going through ninth grade). 
The grant dollars will support the 
materials for the libraries’ design 
and production. Grant funding will 
also help facilitate reading and edu-
cational programming throughout 
the summer. 
The addition of lending libraries 
will provide significant benefits to 
Tamarack’s entire camp community 
during the summer of 2022 and 
beyond. The new libraries will allow 
campers and counselors to pursue 
their individual passions for reading 
throughout the summer. Further, 
as part of the agency’s efforts to 
respond to mental health challenges, 
the lending libraries will provide 
campers with quiet, contemplative 
respite activities. 
“When we heard about the lend-
ing libraries concept and the need 
to provide additional mental health 
support and enrichment oppor-
tunities for campers, we knew we 
wanted to be involved,
” said Molly 
Applebaum-Wyett, co-trustee of the 
Applebaum Family Philanthropy 
Compass Fund. “This is just the lat-
est example of camp evolving for the 

needs of the community.
”
Rebecca Applebaum-Wyett, 
co-trustee of the Applebaum Family 
Philanthropy Compass Fund, added. 
“
A key component of the 
Compass Fund’s mission is to help 
our future Jewish community and 
to respond to emerging issues. 
The lending libraries for campers 
is an excellent innovative model 
to encourage meaningful camper 
connections while providing the 
important space to read and won-
der. We are so pleased to support 
Tamarack through our Compass 
Fund for this purpose.
” 
Please join in filling camp’s new 
lending libraries by donating new 
or gently used books in good con-
dition. Books can be dropped off 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the 
lobby of the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit in Bloomfield 
Township through June 3. 
“We are thrilled to launch our 
book drive in partnership with the 
Applebaum Family Philanthropy 
Compass Fund. It was important to 
involve our community in this ini-
tiative and we are excited that more 
people will have the opportunity to 
be part of camp’s magic this sum-
mer by sharing their favorite books 
and stories with our campers,
” says 
Ashleigh Imerman, chief advance-
ment officer of Tamarack Camps. 

For questions regarding the book drive, 

call (248) 647-1100. To learn more about 

Tamarack Camps, visit www.tamarackcamps.

com. To learn more about the Applebaum 

Family Philanthropy Compass Fund, visit 

www.applebaumphilanthropy.org. 

Join Tamarack Camps by adding your 
favorite new or gently used book to 
camp’s new lending libraries. 

Send a ‘Book’ 
to Camp!

CAMP TAMARACK STAFF

