One of his dream careers was paleontology, which combined his love for dinosaurs with the hands-on work of combing through artifacts. They yearned to give him more opportunities to explore his passions beyond their life in Queens. Mr. Bukari was 12 when he spent his first summer in upstate New York, at the Fresh Air Fund’s Camp Mariah. Leaving home for the first time made him feel more mature and aware of how big the world was. Being at camp “raised my eagerness to want to do more things on my own,” he says.

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Persons: Shariff Bukari, Bukari, Mariah, “, ” Locations: Queens, Ghana, New York City, New York