Keegan Wakana Day Camps & Teen Center Director

When asked to identify his favorite quote, Keegan Wakana, the Y’s Day Camps & Teen Center Director, likes to draw on the music of former Beatle John Lennon: “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one”. He also strongly believes in the Y’s core value of Honesty. “I strive hard to admit when I have done something wrong and own my flaws,” he says.

Keegan oversees students and staff at Camp G. Peirce Webber and the Y’s Teen Center program, ensuring children and teens “have a safe and fun time when they are with us.” He loves his Y colleagues. “I know I can delegate tasks to staff and the work will get done,” he says. “The team has made me a better leader. I try hard to lead by example.”

Keegan joined the Bangor Region YMCA because he wanted to work with younger students, helping them grow and develop life skills. Originally from Caribou, Maine, his parents were both schoolteachers. “There were only two years of school that I didn’t have a parent in the building with me,” he recalls.

His entire family is sport-oriented. As a result, Keegan took as many sports and recreation classes in college as he could. He completed two internships at a ski resort and was the recreation director at Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone, Maine, for three years before joining the Bangor Region YMCA’s aquatics program.

The youth he cares for at the Y have impacted his life the most. “I love when children and teens say how much fun they had or when parents are thankful for our program,” he says. Outside the Y he enjoys spending time with family and alpine skiing. One thing people might not know about Keegan is his fondness for woodworking and the fact that he is allergic to his own tears!