Can You Be a Camp Counselor?

As high school students start to think about how to spend their summer, camp counseling is a valuable place to look. For some, it can even change your life.

Out of all the jobs a high schooler can have, being a camp counselor is probably the best. As a counselor, you get to be a stable role model for kids, make lifelong friends, and develop vital problem-solving skills. There are many different types of camp counseling opportunities during the summer. Many students help out at day camps they went to as kids. For Pennridge students, some of the most common are Deep Run Sports Camp, Young Performers Collaborative, and Camp Invention. Students spend a few weeks during the summer supervising kids and guiding activities, and in return, they get positive summer memories, interesting stories, and a boosted resume.

The most common type of camp in the Pennridge area is a day camp, but if you look a little further, you can find some really interesting overnight camps. For example, one LaSalle College High School graduate, Jack Young, took part in a program called Wildness Adventures over the summer. For ten weeks, Young learned to lead, adapt, and have a blast in the great outdoors. As a trip leader, he spent two weeks doing wilderness first responder training and learning the basics of the course. He then spent the next eight weeks leading groups of 11 to 13-year-olds through the California Discovery program of Wilderness Adventures. Highlights of the trip were whitewater rafting in the American River, kayaking in Lake Tahoe, and backpacking through Yosemite. Although he had to get used to the constant socializing, when asked about his overall experience, he said, “It was probably the most impactful experience of my life.” From it, he learned that he wants to spend the rest of his life trying to bridge the gap between education and nature. He got to get paid to travel the country, meet tons of interesting people, and be a “goofball” in the great outdoors. Because of all this, he recommends being a camp counselor to anyone who gets the opportunity.

Even Jennifer King, who was a camp counselor more than 30 years ago, says that camp “is just great because you get to have fun doing sports and games with hilarious kids all day.” She admits that she had to pull over sometimes on her drive home because of how exhausting the job is. She also realizes that she probably should have gotten a better-paying job as someone with heavy college debt, but she wouldn’t change any of her decisions.

Like King’s experience, camp doesn’t have to mean camping outside for weeks at a time. At programs like the aforementioned Deep Run Sports Camp, counselors take the campers through a series of stations of different sports throughout the day, and then the students go home. At Young Performers Collaborative, the campers spent five days learning acting, music, and dance for a musical that they perform on Friday night. The counselors help run games, make costumes, make and teach choreography, control the soundboard, and more. For Camp Invention, counselors are assigned an age group from K-6 and work with one other counselor throughout the day to teach campers fundamentals of science, experimental design, and creativity. All of these positions require patience, leadership, and maturity. Counseling experiences have a myriad of benefits. People who have these experiences come back with hilarious stories, crafty skills, and resilience from challenging situations.

If you are interested in seeking camp counseling opportunities, all you have to do is ask around. Plenty of high schoolers have summer camp jobs, and if you ask enough people, you will likely find a few who can lead you to a job. Starting in late January, most camp positions open up for applications. As long as you can prove you are responsible and have a love for fun, you are set for the job.

Sources

https://hiring.monster.com/resources/job-descriptions/social-service/camp-counselor/

https://www.campwatitoh.com/1486-2/

https://www.wildernessadventures.com/