Compiled by Louis Levin
Working for camp year-round and spending all winter thinking about the summer affords us folks in the Nebagamon office the opportunity to take a good look at how we can improve our summer practices.. Free moments as a team are spent asking “what if we did it this way?” and “how can we do that better?” and “are we delivering on the promises we make to camp parents?” In that spirit, this past month I’ve taken some time to reflect on a longstanding tool our counselors use to assist their campers in goal setting and planning: the ARO.
Activity Records and Objectives (pronounced kind of like the word “arrow,” so much so that I imagine a lot of campers think that’s what the form and the practice is called) are forms that cabin counselors fill out with each individual camper every night of the summer to do exactly what the form says – record campers activities and objectives. The creation of this form actually starts before the summer – campers and their parents use it to discuss their goals for the summer, be it trying something new, improving their tennis game, getting comfortable on trail, or expanding a friend group at camp. (A quick aside for our camp parents: This form is currently available and can be accessed through CampInTouch here. The rest of this article means a whole lot less unless you sit down with your camper to identify their goals for the summer!)
Our counselors collect a camper’s goals on the ARO prior to camper arrival (that’s the objectives part). Then, they use the ARO throughout the summer to track campers’ progress toward those goals (that’s the activity records part). Counselors review and record what projects campers attended that day and what ranks they achieved or are working toward, as well as social emotional challenges and growth experiences from the day. It’s a delight to walk into a cabin just before taps and hear a counselor having a thoughtful conversation with each camper. “Did you get to the top of the climbing wall, like you were hoping to at the beginning of the summer?” “Today was the first time you tried archery – what’d you think?” “Did you see someone do something kind today?”
The actual form itself, the piece of paper, has gone through some changes over the years, and so I wanted to make sure it was still a useful tool. To that end, I spent some time redesigning the form this month. While I think I have my finger on the pulse of today’s cabin staff, it’s been a bit since I’ve been a counselor and used the form myself. After I devised a new draft, I solicited feedback from a group of trusted and experienced current counselors. I was blown away by the thought they put into the form. These cabin counselors really thought hard about how AROs facilitate these incredibly valuable conversations. One told me that AROs are the most important part of being a counselor. It helps him each and every day to connect with every camper in his cabin and review how the day went, so no camper’s objectives slip through the cracks. Another told me the form I’d created lacked room for notes – “I’d fill up a sheet of paper with notes on just one camper in two days…” He was so intent on this point he insisted the form come with loose leaf paper just for note taking on these conversations.
It made me proud of our summer staff yet again. They care so deeply about helping campers accomplish their goals.They know that their campers benefit from high quality mentorship. They make sure our camper experience is focused on helping the boys grow toward their goals all summer long, each and every day. And it made me proud that our staff foster a culture at camp that values child development as well as the fun of camp. (Trust me – camp is really, really fun! When I tell people what my job is, I sometimes refer to my role as Chief Fun Officer!) Our staff are focused on helping campers grow and develop their skills, in projects, in the cabin, and out on trail, all summer long. And while AROs are just a tool to help them facilitate that growth, the conversations our staff have each and every day with their campers are the living embodiment of the values our staff so dearly hold.
There’s a few more news items to share this month from the camp family – if you have something you’d like to share, send me an email at [email protected]!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW… In D.C., Jonah Tone is performing in a production of Something Rotten!, as well as preparing for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Nate Feldman is putting his instructor in orienteering to good use in his school’s geography club. Josh Dessenberg is practicing his squash game, spending time on his bike, and cheering for Verstappen as the F1 season starts. Elliot Tone is the point guard for his basketball team and is playing lots of pickleball. Ezra Bennett continues to hone his piano skills and is the center for his basketball team. Alex Levin spent the winter skiing, as well as preparing for baseball season where he plays the hot corner. Ben Mack is shooting lots of photography on his travels this winter, as well as keeping up with running and soccer season. Ethan Mack is spending time with his dog and working on teaching him some new tricks. Eli Kauders is the goal keeper for his soccer team and likes to build legos with his brother Max Kauders. Max keeps busy as a right wing on his soccer team, and exploring the local park with friends. In Phoenix, Gabe Brown is the goalie for his school’s lacrosse team.
WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS GO TO… Brad Ringel (Memphis/NYC, 2002-’07, ’09-’10)and Rebecca Hanai!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW… In Seattle, Wynter Herron is racing through ski season in the slalom and giant slalom events for the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. Aiken Colman is the center for his 11 and under basketball team… at only 9-and-a-half years old! Gage Halloway is the dungeon master for his burgeoning Dungeons and Dragons club, and Jacob Wallenstein is working on adding power to his swing playing center field and third base for his baseball team. And in Minneapolis, Sam Schwartz is the point guard for his basketball team and enjoyed cheering on the Buckeyes in their College Football Playoff championship. Henry Knutson is building with Legos and had a lead role in his community theater’s production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!” Finally, Alex Mambo has been playing football and bouldering through winter.
I try to spend a few Arrowhead column-inches each winter discussing the incredible successes we have at camp each summer. With resolutions in the air, one camper’s story from 2024 keeps ringing in my head.
Between a rigorous trip schedule and a wide variety of interests at other projects, this boy made time to go skiing every chance he got. Turns out, balancing on one ski took practice. A lot of practice. Weeks and weeks of practice. His excitement for his goal wavered at times. He had good days and bad days, and got close to standing more than once. He would report to me often, telling me about his progress, vying for extra spots at sign-ups, and receiving an occasional needed pep talk from our spectacular waterskiing staff.
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW… In New York, 
The skills campers build and practice in that transition to camp are crucial for all sorts of transitions coming down the line – heading to sleepovers in the winter, or moving out of their childhood home to college in a future year, or moving back home to be near their family way down the line. I think it’s due to Nebagamon that I like to nest quickly. I like to get my bed made, unpack all the boxes, put things on the walls, and make the house feel like a home. Because once that’s all done… I can go play foursquare!
And also, it’s not quite right! Over the past week, and over the next two, our whole staff is arriving at camp in various stages. While the quiet is pronounced for a few days, it’s quickly drowned out. First, the pre-camp crew arrives, and along with them comes the sounds of mowers, weed-whackers, rakes and shovels. The silence is broken by socket wrenches and hopefully-not hacksaws assembling the waterfront, and motor boats and pontoons buzzing towards the newly installed docks. Next, our trippers arrive (just yesterday!), accompanied by sounds of boots on the ground practicing portages, and hopefully-not scraping canoe gunwales as they rehearse their canoe-over canoe rescues. Soon our kitchen staff will be here, with the sounds of chit-chat from the Rec Hall and the clang of dishware as we set more and more tables in the Rec Hall. Then whistles from the waterfront staff arriving early for our Wilderness Water Safety course, and “On-Belay!” from our climbing staff here for our climbing training. As we get close to the official start of staff week, our administrators arrive at camp, making whatever sounds meetings make(?!), and then the rest of our staff, new and old arrive, as we prepare for staff training. And the sounds of introductions, reunions, laughter and, yes, the sounds of more meetings fill the grounds.
Staff arrivals ramp us up slowly but surely. This steady transition builds our enthusiasm, energy, and most of all, anticipation. Our community grows, both in number and volume, as more people voyage to the Northwoods to prepare for the ultimate arrival: the buses arriving at camp, and campers pouring through the gate to truly light this place up with the glorious sounds that this place was built to generate…children at play. As you’re reading this it’s T-16 days, and the group of us up here at camp, and those arriving in the next week, can’t wait for it all to begin. Because while the peace and quiet is nice for a little while, the sounds of laughter, of joy, of singing songs in the Rec Hall and Taps in the evening is what makes this place feel alive.
“I am coming to camp to make a difference with kids, and try something new, joining a new community, a new job, and a new country”
This month, Troika and I attended the American Camp Association’s national conference, a week-long gathering of thousands of camp professionals from around the country. We attended sessions on a wide variety of topics, covering camper social-emotional learning, alumni relations, strategic planning, DEI initiatives, and much more, all through the lens of summer camp.
Camp builds deep friendships because the people who you meet at camp weren’t just randomly assigned to the same dorm as you. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been going to camp for so long, or because at this point in my life, all my friends are camp friends. But it hadn’t really occurred to me that camp friendships are built on so much more than simply convenience, and that’s what helps make them so strong.
We have lots of campers who come to camp just for our wilderness trips. These trips are phenomenal opportunities that most kids don’t get growing up. But camp is the one time and place that these opportunities present themselves all the time! At home, it’s not often that someone approaches you during your breakfast, offering you the opportunity to explore some of our most beautiful parks on a camping trip that leaves in just a couple of days, but it’s a regular occurrence at camp. Someof our campers come to camp each summer with the goal of not spending time at camp, but instead, signing up for as many trips as they can. For other campers though, trips can feel like a big risk. For them, just coming to camp may have felt like a big step, and so the idea of trading the (relative) comfort of their cabin for a sleeping bag and tent can seem daunting.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW… Jeff Goldstein (New York, 1993-’99) works in consumer licensing for Nogin, and Danny Sickle (Chicago/NYC, 2009-’15, ’17, ’23) works in marketing and organization for World Finer Foods. Max Fleischer (Chicago/NYC, 2011-’15, ’17-’19) is a financial analyst for Jane Street Capital, and Gabe Sher (Philadelphia/NYC, 2008-’14, ’16-’18, ’21) is working as a ceramicist. Hugh Broder (Detroit/NYC, 1966-’69, ’74-’75, ’16-’19, ’23) and Jeremy Kotin (Chicago, 1994-’96) produced the feature film “He Went That Way,” starring Zachary Quinto and Jacob Eordi. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is available to rent or buy through many streaming services; you can 