Staff Profile: Selina “WhoDee” Apodaca

Selina has spent many years serving Pine Cove faithfully as she travels to and from churches with Pine Cove City! Get to know the Iceberg Site Director as she tells us about how she got to camp, her favorite places to go to in College Station, and more

Tell us about yourself!

I grew up in Amarillo and I was the youngest of four girls. Growing up, we were a big basketball family. My dad was our coach, and some of my earliest memories were in a gym. I loved my childhood and loved being the youngest of four—I looked up to my sisters a ton. We moved to the DFW area when I was going into sixth grade which was a pretty big shift in my family’s life as a whole as we tried to continue making Jesus the center of our home. I’ve always looked up to my dad. He’s one of the most amazing men and a really incredible example of a godly man of humility and strong leadership. He encouraged me to continue playing basketball, and after working really hard with him and my coach going through a lot of great lengths, I ended up playing at a D3 called University of Mary Hardin-Baylor for my first two years of school. My mom is also a wonderful, wonderful woman and has always been super supportive and present. And then my sisters are all married now and all have babies. My family is a huge piece of my life and very, very blessed and thankful for the family I got to grow up in. If we’re talking about hobbies—I love coffee, I love to spend time with people, love to be outside, I like to read, and I like taking care of plants!

How did you get to Pine Cove and what different roles have you held? 

I didn’t grow up as a camper, so I didn’t know anything about Pine Cove until I got to college. I wouldn’t say that I really started walking with the Lord until my freshman year of college when I got plugged in with girls who were involved with Young Life, which in turn led me to also get involved. Some of my Young Life friends came back from the summer after our freshman year and were like, “Oh my gosh, Selina, you’ve got to apply to Pine Cove.” After some convincing, I applied and interviewed with Rebecca Smith, who is now my boss. There’s a lot of obvious stamps of the Lord’s hand in moments of my life—and one of them is definitely my interview with Pine Cove. 

I started on summer staff in 2017 as a Health Assistant for Pine Cove City Edge! Through lots of twists and turns, I got to hold a lot of different summer staff positions—counselor for two summers, assistant program director, and I even did the Forge! At the end of my last summer in 2020, I interviewed and was offered my current role on full time as the Iceberg Site Director.

How did you get your camp name? 

So my full camp name is “Who’s Dine Is It Anyway?” but I go by “WhoDee.” During the Name Game, I was asked for my most embarrassing story, which happened in sixth grade when we had moved. I was the main character in a play, and my character’s prop was a script because I was acting as a narrator in a play that we were producing. I ended up forgetting the lines and freaked out! My director was motioning to me, telling me to read my script. So I pulled my script out of my back pocket, flipped to the page and read my lines. It was horrible!

Then I was asked my most embarrassing date story, and it happened on my first date in high school. The boy asked me out to a movie, came to the door, met my dad, all the things. But when we got back to the car, two of his friends were in it and they were coming with us on the date! Even at the movie theater, he was like, “Hey, can we switch spots so that I can sit next to the guys?”

Lastly, I grew up watching the show “Whose Line is it Anyway” with my dad a lot, and we loved it. So they combined everything and I became “Who’s Dine Is It Anyway?” 

What are your go-to road trip snacks and activities? 

I love road trips! I knew that before, but it’s cool to see how God knew where I should be because I love being in a car and talking with others, and love everything about what Cty is based on, especially in the travel sense. My favorite travel snack would be Chester’s Hot Fries, and for drink I’d probably get a coffee but not necessarily both at the same time. To pass time on the road I love to talk or listen to music. There’s a few podcasts I love listening to—Austin Stone or the Village Sermons or the Bible Project. And when in doubt, I love the Alphabet Game you play by looking at each billboard! 

What are some of your favorite books or plants?

My favorite series is “The Mark of the Lion” by Francine Rivers. I also love “Hunger Games” or “Divergent.” Another favorite would be “Love Radical” by David Platt—that’s probably one of my favorite Christian development books, along with “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

When it comes to plants, I have a ZZ plant that I like a lot and a Golden Pothos plant. I also have a small one that almost looks like bubbles. I wouldn’t say that I have a green thumb, but taking care of and repotting plants is really therapeutic and very restful for me.

What’s it like building relationships with multiple churches throughout the years?

It’s the best. This is a question that I could go on and on and on about honestly. It’s just so cool that Pine Cove has found a way and really fine tuned a way to take Pine Cove and the experience of camp on the road. Rebecca Smith has fostered the department of City and grown it with such care towards our relationships, connections, and thoughtfulness toward our church partners. Her heart is for prayer and for us being on our knees and knowing our churches. I love my church contacts and getting to learn from and  foster relationships with a lot of men and women that are older than me. It’s a gift to get to partner with them in a way that hopefully is refreshing and gets to propel them into more ministry.

At the same time, it’s a unique thing for the college staffers who maybe don’t even know the importance or God’s heart for them to be a part of the local church. Through camp, they partner with nine churches and experience each church’s Sunday service. Then they live in homes of families who are members of the church we’re partnering with. Then, when these college staffers go back home or back to school, they have a fresh desire to get plugged into a local church! Everything is upholding the local church and digging into what God says about the church through scripture!

What are your favorite spots in College Station? 

There’s a coffee shop called Carport, which is probably my favorite! I love downtown Bryan, especially a grill called Carney’s that has good burgers, chicken strips, pool tables, and an outdoor patio.There’s another fun, kind of nicer place to eat called Primrose that I love! I was there one night with friends and I was like, “What time do y’all close?” They told me, “Well, the owner is pretty Italian geared, so we don’t have a close time. We just close once the last person leaves!” Which is crazy!

Who at Pine Cove has influenced your leadership decisions the most? 

Right off the bat I think of Maddie Ritche, Rebecca Smith, Jared Schuler, and EJ Hibbler.

Rebecca Smith interviewed me, so part of the extension of God’s grace in me getting to experience Pine Cove and grow in the way that I have is truly through Rebecca and the way she saw something in me and hired me. The ways that she’s influenced me and shaped the way I approach my job is truly to desire to be a woman after the Lord’s own heart and a woman of prayer. John 3:30 says “He must increase, but I must decrease,” and she exemplifies that through her life.  And so she’s just been such an amazing example of truly not considering my interests, but the interests of others and how to come alongside others and how to listen and truly hear what they’re saying and walk with them and the things that they’re sharing.

And then EJ is crazy in the best way. He is so inclined to what God is saying and where God is moving and doesn’t want to give into anything other than what God has said, spoken, or desired. He could toss a schedule out on a whim if was to let God do something different. He consistently made people feel cared for and seen. He was so available, so interruptible, and so willing to go with anyone where they needed to go or just talk through something. Also, I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone who’s quicker to scripture. He would meet people where they’re at and then undoubtedly point them to scripture. And getting to watch him, you could have almost believed he was a summer staffer with the way he would get involved at camp in the gauntlet, Power Hour, or sitting in Bible Studies. You would have never known how busy he really was.  

I’ve been surrounded by people who really care deeply for me, and that includes Jared and Maddie who love deeply and their care doesn’t ever sacrifice them speaking truth, even when it’s hard. They’re going to speak the truth and be gracious in the same moment. And so I’ve been held accountable, I’ve been disciplined, I’ve been called higher. I’ve also been so encouraged and spoken so much life into and just have been so empowered as a leader by my leaders.

What keeps you working at camp?

God is at work in so many places all over the world, it’s not just camp, but I think throughout my summers, I’ve been able to taste and see the Lord, so where else would I be? 

In this role, I’m getting to draw near to the Lord, walk as the hands and feet of Christ, grow my relationship with the Lord, and have every opportunity to show the Gospel to my campers through word in mouth and through word in deed. 

After each summer, I like to walk through intentional reflection and evaluate where my heart is at with camp and my motivation behind serving. And then when I think about Matthew 28 and the Great Commission and what I love and feel really on purpose and on mission for with the Lord, it is getting to share the Gospel with those who don’t know it or have not had the opportunity to hear it. Even in the seasons that I grow weary or tired, I think about what God has done and the way He moves, and it encourages me to continue on.

How have you seen God’s faithfulness so far at camp? 

I have begun to see His faithfulness when one of my staffers or I think, “I can’t do it anymore.” If I’m tapped out emotionally, physically, mentally, etc., we get on our knees and we beg the Lord for more and we wake up another day and are able to do it.

Also, watching the Lord blow the staffers’ minds with how He provides or the way He sustains. Sometimes this is revealed through individual conversations. It’s always a joy getting to talk through life and hear how my leadership team is walking with the Lord and what they’re fearful of and what they’re excited about. And so those conversations are really cool. And I feel like it’s little breadcrumb moments of getting to watch them kind of continue to trust the Lord or know that He’s good even in the unknown. 

Our host homes are another way we’ve seen God’s faithfulness. There is a whole ministry within host homes and our summer staffers are getting to stay in host homes! I’ll have staffers tell me, “This family is going through exactly what my family has been going through all year, and I’m getting to witness the hope that is within brokenness.” We pray over host homes and cabin assignments, but have no idea what’s going to come of that, but God consistently shows that He is at work in even the smallest of details.