Compiled by Louis Levin
I’m truly excited about the incredible group of folks who will be counseling our campers this summer. I thought about how to best explain to our Arrowhead readers the quality of all these amazing individuals, but I realized that the staff themselves put it best in all the interviews I conducted this winter. The final question I ask all our applicants is “what would a successful summer look like to you?” I combed through my interview notes and put together a handful of responses for you to read here…
- “I want to be a role model, I want to be there for my campers, and I want to have their backs. This summer would be successful if all of my campers knew I was on their team, rooting for them.”
- “Camp’s community is really important to me. I am a former camper, and helping campers feel like they fit in in the community and helping them belong to our community would feel really great.”
- “I want to have fun this summer! Being a counselor seems really rewarding. I don’t think the job is going to be easy, and I don’t really want it to be easy, because I want to learn and grow this summer. Most of all, I want to make the kids happy and help them have fun.”
“This summer would be successful if I can connect with my campers. I’m someone who is close in age to them, so I can share their unique perspective, and relate to them in a different way than their parents.”- “I want to shape who my campers are as people. I want to help them grow positively, and help them find out who they are at camp.”
- “Camp would be a success if I was able to teach campers something new this summer. I want them to learn about new skills, but also, I want them to learn about themselves.”
- “I learned so many important skills as a camper that help me now, and I want to pass those skills on to the next generation of campers. Camp made me the person I am today, and hopefully I can give back by helping the campers this summer.”
- “I want to help kids solve problems this summer. Getting a solution right with a kid helps them feel great about themselves – I had some experience working with kids in the winters and helping them engage a problem and find a solution was great, so I want to do that at camp.”
- “I think if every kid went home and told their parents that they want to come back the next summer would be a success. That means they had such an amazing time at camp, they want to do it again, and hopefully, want to have me as a counselor again.”
- “Camp is my favorite place in the world. It’s my happy place. I want other people to love camp as much as I do.”
- “Camp would be successful if I saw kids make progress over the summer. It is rewarding to work with children over a long period of time and see them grow. I really want to laugh a lot too!”
We’ve got a great team assembled for the summer, and we’ll publish the full list in the June Arrowhead Newsletter. Based on all the interviews, references, and meetings and phone calls I’ve held with the staff over the past few months, I’m confident this group of folks will achieve all the successes they described to me during their interviews.
We’ve got a few news pieces to share with you this month – if you have an update for the next Arrowhead, send me an email at louis@campnebagamon.com!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW… Ezra Maidenberg has been active on his schools fencing team, competing in the foil category. En garde! Walt Schiffer is playing right field and first base on his local baseball team. He had three hits at three at bats in the season opener. Over the winter, he skied his first double black diamond run in Beaver Creek (and survived!).
IN THE WHERE ARE THEY NOW DEPARTMENT… Birch’s on the Lake Brewhouse & Supperclub, owned by Brewmaster Brennan Greene (Long Lake, MN, 1993-’98, 2000-’05) won two awards at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild’s Brewers Cup Competition, including best Hazy IPA in Minnesota.
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