This study illuminates how medical specialty camps can be an important developmental setting offering opportunities for diverse children and youth to develop traits and qualities perceived as important even later in life. Perhaps most importantly, camp was identified as one of the most influential settings for developing personal and social traits and qualities when compared to other settings such as sports and enrichment programs, suggesting the essential role of camps. Camp appears to be especially good at fostering a willingness to try new things, appreciation of diversity, self-identity, empathy and compassion, self-confidence, perseverance, and friendship skills in camper alumni. The study also identified several camp elements as important for camper experiences including feeling accepted and not judged, feeling a sense of freedom, feeling a sense of possibility, and trying new things, all of which provide a basis for programmatic design.