View Full Version : What's your role?
If you're not a counselor or specialist, what role do you play at camp? Explain your role to us!
If we get enough people with one specific job, we'll add a subforum or even a full forum for that position.
speedx5xracer
10-22-2005, 04:20 PM
I have to do a combo of both since I live with the kids and are a specialist it is hard but twice as rewarding.
collissimon
10-27-2005, 07:14 PM
Last year I was a counsellor and a Deputy Unit Head, which meant that on my Unit Head's day off and night off I was the Unit Leader. I had to run evening activities, manage staff, deal with campers' behaviours and keep things ticking over. I also had a couple of extra responsibilities, as it was the Unit Head's first year in the job. I had to do a couple of weekly updates to parents, and had to report to the Directors a couple of times and go to morning meetings etc.
It was nice to see a different side to how camp works, and I would recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity, especially making up evening activities!
I'd love to be a Division Head (as they are in our camp) for a day. The senior counselor in our bunk two summers ago got to do it when our Division Head was absent one day. They chose him because he had a lot of experience. He said he loved it and would do it again if they asked him.
CAMPFRIEND
10-29-2005, 09:59 AM
You all are going to have so much fun moving up in the ranks at you camps. I am a director right now. There are day that I wish I could still be a counselor or a unit leader. I don't get as much time with the campers any more, but a lot of time dealing with camper sick parents:eek:
________
silversurfer vaporizer (http://vaporizers.net/silver-surfer-vaporizer)
You all are going to have so much fun moving up in the ranks at you camps. I am a director right now. There are day that I wish I could still be a counselor or a unit leader. I don't get as much time with the campers any more, but a lot of time dealing with camper sick parents:eek:
That must be a lot of fun. :P
Flukie
10-29-2005, 11:06 AM
Last summer I was the Program Manager/CIT Director. For most of the summer, my job was to oversee all land-based programming at our camp. I oversaw all scheduling from the ULs, checked all food reqs, gave program ideas, ran Camper Council, oversaw All-Camps, and acted as part of the Ad-Staff. For the two weeks we had CITs, I oversaw all their programming and lived in the unit with them. The last week, I was acting Assistant Director because ours had left. Course, by then we were down to "two Ad-Staff, mwahahahaha!" (think the Count on Sesame Street - that's what we walked around doing the last week...).
I'm not sure what I'll be this summer. Part of me thinks they are offering me the Program Manager position again, part thinks they want me to move up. I proposed having two ADs since I know someone who is older and interested in coming back - one would oversee all water programming (her) and the other would do all land programming (me!). But we'll see...
During the school year, I'm working on revamping programs with the Council. My goal is to lower camp prices - but I don't think it will happen this year. So I guess my new goal is to give fabulous programming in the camp book (before we even get to camp) to attract more campers. We'll see what happens...
It would be awesome if you became an assistant director. I can't wait to hear how it turns out.
collissimon
10-29-2005, 04:39 PM
Deputies are a really good role, because you get to try out what it's like to be a Division/Unit Head. You do have to work hard to put yourself in that role however, as for your bunk at least you are a counsellor, so have to make yourself that little bit 'different'.
melon4382
10-29-2005, 05:08 PM
I was the junior division head this past summer. I was basically in charge of all of the juniors(6-10 y.olds) and their counselors. It was a great position to have. I loved being able to go say goodnight to all 60 of my campers and their counselors. There were times when it was diffcult and there were parts of my job thatw ere fun and other aprts that weren't as much fun. Although, i did come to enjoy trash runs and I got used to helping a cabin clean the bathrooms every day. I loved being jr. division head. I'm not sure what position I'll have next summer but I know whatever it is it will be great because I'll be at camp.
martha27
10-29-2005, 07:35 PM
You all are going to have so much fun moving up in the ranks at you camps. I am a director right now. There are day that I wish I could still be a counselor or a unit leader. I don't get as much time with the campers any more, but a lot of time dealing with camper sick parents:eek:
its a great feeling to go back and work your way up the ranks. i loved the feeling of accomplishment and achievment that that brought.
one of my good friends worked his way up from a counselor to now being the co-director of camp. it can be done!
CAMPFRIEND
10-29-2005, 08:43 PM
If you looking for a job where the moneys not great the hours are long and you don't get much time off!! FYou will make a great camp director!!! It's all about the kids!!
________
marijuana sativa (http://strainindex.com)
martha27
10-29-2005, 09:03 PM
all true! thats dedication for you
That's why only people who truly love being camp counselors are camp counselors. I've asked some of my friends to work at camp with me. They decline simply because of the money. I tell them it's not all about the money, it's about giving the kids a great summer. They just don't understand.
CAMPFRIEND
10-30-2005, 09:45 AM
If peole are working at camp for the money the will never like it. You get so much more than money could ever bring you.. I miss the kids!
________
teen videos (http://teenvid.org)
I try telling them all of that, but for some reason they can't see past the paycheck. Oh well. It's better they don't work at camp I guess.
CAMPFRIEND
10-30-2005, 07:47 PM
If they have money in their hart the kids will never be!!! Not a good match.
________
ufc (http://ultimatefighters.org)
collissimon
10-31-2005, 06:24 AM
I suppose it depends what their individual financial situation is: I could only go my first year because I worked for a year before I went to university to get some savings. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have been able to go.
I'm also grateful for going to a camp that can afford to provide me with a half-decent wage, because it means that I'll be able to come back for a couple more years yet!
Indigo
11-04-2005, 12:02 PM
I started out as a part-time stable hand, then wrangler in the spring and fall seasons... Then I finally got hired as a summer counselor when I was 19. The year after that I was a summer wrangler, and last summer I was the WIT (Wrangler-In-Training) Director. I loved that so much that I'm doing it again this summer! Eventually I'd like to move up a bit higher, but I don't see myself going back after I head up, so I want to enjoy the position I loved at least once more.
EeyoreStalbans
12-05-2005, 10:48 PM
I'm an administrative floater. I don't have the entire summer to devote to camp, but I've been going to the camp so long that I know how to do pretty much every aspect, and so I help the ad staff out by floating around and helping out in units as needed, driving the camp vans to and from to pick kids up from the neighboring towns and bring them into and out of camp, leading songs, and just being there as a support to the staff for questions and role-modeling, when other ad-staff had duties in the office (ACA year!)
:)
EchoLaker
12-11-2005, 11:51 PM
It was a wierd summer for me in the sense that I went to Camp thinking that I'd miss out on the actually business of camp, my contracted position was to be the Accountant and moonlight as an Office staff person for a few hours a day.
However, during Orientation in a teamwork/communication game, the Director pulled me to one side, and asked me if I wanted to live with a group.
I pretty much bit his hand off ! So breakfast, lunch, dinner, line-up, evening activity and night, I was a councelor to a group of 13 year old guys. And I loved it.
But my job as defined was the Accountant ! I single handedly looked after the petty cash, took care of Salary Advances, Expense Reimbursements, Trip Monies, obtaining of SS#'s for the new Internationals, Medical Bills, and Final payroll. And that was all great, fantastic experience, and infact I'll be doing that again this summer - all from the comfort of my own air-conditioned office, my own computer, and my own leather chair. :D
I also worked in the main office for a few hours a day, dealing with phone calls, and the camper-parent phone call arrangements (a particularly busy time of the day). And I'll be doing THAT again this summer.
I've also made sure that I'll have the chance to work with a group - because for an accountant I think I had it pretty good - got a well rounded experience of everything - which was more rewarding.
The things I thought I'd miss out on, I got those too ! It was exhausting mind you !
CAMPFRIEND
12-12-2005, 12:19 PM
That sounds like the best of both worlds for you!
collissimon
12-12-2005, 12:45 PM
That sounds really cool EchoLaker! :)
Interested post Echo! That sounds like a cool job. :)
code3cadet
12-12-2005, 09:36 PM
wHAT FUN EchoLake THAT WOULD BE A GOOD JOB
EchoLaker
12-13-2005, 06:29 PM
I enjoyed it, relevent experience towards my degree course, a chance to work independantly creating your own system.
And yet still got to work with the kids. I got to go on a trip with the LITs to the Tom Petty concert at Saratoga, and go with the LVBs to Old Forge Water Safari, amongst all the other stuff I did with my group during the day.
It was strange, early doors all the office staff (including the international office staff) were down in the main office, and I was stocking up my office - walked up and down several times from my office, down a flight of stairs to the main office, and in to the stationary stores. After 2 or 3 trips, the office girls spoke up, and told me in future that I should just phone them and they'd have whatever I needed brought up to me.
Another thing I wasn't prepared for was, because there was no direct line to my office, just an internal extention, that I would have the option to have the not take phone calls immediately.
Imagine, just got in from breakfast, walk into the office, check your inbox, trying to prioritise all your stuff - hectic - suddenly get a phone call from the main office - "Good morning, I've got a Mr(s) X on the line calling for you"...... it was so nice to be able to go "I'm a little busy right now could you take a message and I'll call later".
Not powertrip type of thing, but I was blissfully unaware of how to behave and "play-out" my role - given the options things became a lot easier.
-----
Every night we had a 3 hour window where our campers would take their scheduled calls home - difficult time - 5 external lines set up for this purpose - 10 minutes per call - so 90 calls a night. Trying to co-ordinate this exercise was difficult but we set up a good system so that it could be done by having 3 people in the office. Around Visiting Day was best, as obviously the parents would see their kids just a few days later so it was less frantic.
-----
Our campers obviously recieve snail mail, but also faxes, and emails - thats a huge operation - not to be underestimated - and there is definately a reason that the mail doesn't go out until around 1.30 PM !
We've had parents send cuddly toys, only they'd undid the stiching, stuffed them full of candy and restiched it - needless to say that was confiscated.
They do the usual things like send gum inside cards/letters too, that also gets taken !
Another one we received (and intercepted) was a Lemon Cake sent for a camper via UPS.
----
The daytime work was mad, but being my own boss (other than the director), provided I left a note on my door, I took the same food breaks as my group - and then joined up with my group in the evening. They loved basketball and hockey - and were just fantastic - it came to the last night on camp, reprise night, and traditionally they start the thank you's with the Support Staff; Kitchen, Office Staff, Maintenance, Housekeeping, Health Center, Transport.
Now, it appeared that my guys (and I) expected to be announced alongside the office staff; the director named them all, my name was missed, uproar and general miffedness from my group, who started chanting my nickname. The director carried on regardless, onto the next groups.
At some point I started to think I was forgotten, and so did my group. Until, the Director said the following "And finally, this camp is so big, it even has it's own Accountant...." --- cue uproar, celebrations from my entire group and group, office, and senior village head staff, he didn't even get to finish his little spiel for about another 2 minutes - and at this point I was in tears.
It meant one thing, they knew my actual title, rather than "the money guy", and they did actual appriciate the work I had done with them outside my office time - it was so humbling.
Needless to say the slideshow, reprise video, and burning of the year ceremony totally gutted me; no one had warned me that I would have needed a box of Kleenex !
Happy memories.:p
camper
12-14-2005, 02:43 AM
lol echolaker its great that you liked your job, seems like you got to be involved in all aspects of camp, business, admin, and being a counselor...very unique! we have 1 person who runs our office and handles all of that stuff...accounting, being kind of a secretary for the directors, taking messages and stuff...in the summer and the winter it's the same person and she's AWESOME but she doesn't really see much of the kids, although she loves camp!
CAMPFRIEND
12-14-2005, 11:08 AM
I think that no mattere what job you do at camp from kitchen tostaff that works with the campers, you better love working at camp as well as campers.
camper
12-14-2005, 01:25 PM
well she originally applied through campamerica and was chosen to work in the office, so she wanted to be a counselor originally. she does love the campers, she just doesn't get much interaction w/them.
EchoLaker
12-14-2005, 03:20 PM
lol echolaker its great that you liked your job, seems like you got to be involved in all aspects of camp, business, admin, and being a counselor...very unique! we have 1 person who runs our office and handles all of that stuff...accounting, being kind of a secretary for the directors, taking messages and stuff...in the summer and the winter it's the same person and she's AWESOME but she doesn't really see much of the kids, although she loves camp!
We have an "Office Manager" who tends to be sort of a PA to the Director in her role in the office, but along with her this year we had quite a mix in the office:
A New Yorker
A French-lady (Manager)
2 Scottish Girls
A N'Orleaner
A Columbian
and then on part-time office duties there was:
Me (Brit - Accountant)
Another N'Orleaner (Tour Director).
Quite a flavor and a whole lot of fun.
Our Director paid for the Office Staff to go for our end of season meal, we went to a Hibatchi (sp?) and then to Ben & Jerry's - quality night.
(I say that, but when you consider he also paid for the entire staff on camp to go bowling (with food) and ice-skating (with food), you have the feeling that he's a decent guy who knows when to reward his staff).
And then at random stages during the summer our Office Manager left us random prezzies in the kitchen - so one day she had gone to Stewarts and bought 3 tubs of Ice-Cream. Add to this that the Admin fridge was the storage for the Main Village OD shift snack/drink so our kitchen staff just kept it constantly filled with Pepsi's, Water, with loads of bags of chips and cookies sat around. We never went thirsty or hungry during a busy office shift.
camper
12-14-2005, 05:11 PM
our tour directors don't count as office staff, b/c they're also groupleaders and athetic directors, plus our owner/director handles a lot of stuff regarding tours.
Ickaba
01-23-2006, 06:48 PM
i'M THE BOSS, THE MAN IN CHARGE, CHIEF CHIEF, HEAD HONCHO, I PAY THE BILLS, I BE DA MAN, I'M THE KING OF THE CAMP CASTLE.
CAMPFRIEND
01-23-2006, 09:11 PM
i'M THE BOSS, THE MAN IN CHARGE, CHIEF CHIEF, HEAD HONCHO, I PAY THE BILLS, I BE DA MAN, I'M THE KING OF THE CAMP CASTLE.
So what do you do?
sarahdee
03-14-2006, 10:41 PM
hey,
well i have done just about all the regulary positions at camp. I started at CIT and then JC and counsellor and as a CIT and JC I ran different activity each session...so now I am Float/Crisis Intervention. I replace people if there are sick or if they need some extra people or if there are problems in the cabin..I am there to try and help them figure out the issues if the counsellor isnt able to...I am also a shadow when needed with kids who need some extra attention...the only thing I miss is not having my own kids
Kerrbear
03-14-2006, 11:28 PM
I was the music activity cordinator my first year, last year I was float/crisis (what sarahdee is doing this year), and this year I'm going to be a counsellor.
Campy Measius
03-15-2006, 09:54 AM
I'm the DIRECTOR! That's right... I got the job!! :D :D :D I'm sooooo excited!!!
Any tips? lol
AshleyJane
03-27-2006, 06:25 PM
I'm Campy Measius' Assistant Director. At our camp the Ad's role is everything related to programming, making sure the programs run smoothly and promply and leading programming sessions etc...
Sparkes
03-27-2006, 07:25 PM
Best Kind Measius!! Congrats!
CAMPFRIEND
03-28-2006, 11:12 AM
Good luck to you this summer. I love to be the director!
KiwiCRB
03-28-2006, 04:55 PM
How is the new camp Campfriend?? Do you like Texas?
CAMPFRIEND
03-29-2006, 07:23 PM
I love my new job and all of the staff that I woek with. I can't wait for the summer! Texas is great but I am not sure how much I like the road system! I guess I will get used to it.
KiwiCRB
03-30-2006, 12:04 AM
Lol what is different about the roads?
CAMPFRIEND
03-30-2006, 10:51 AM
They have all the feeder roads. It's different then what I am used to.
rock-it
04-10-2006, 08:11 PM
I'm a CIT director this year! It's a new role for me, and I am super pumped!
And, what on earth is a feeder road? How is it different than an intersecting road?
KiwiCRB
04-10-2006, 10:07 PM
A feeder road (or acess roads as we call them in this part of the state) is a road that runs along the bigger road and is used to get to get onto and off of the bigger road. The main one generally has overpasses so that you miss all the lights and the feeder road goes through the lights and businesses so you can get where your going.
rock-it
04-10-2006, 11:36 PM
Oh, an ACCESS road! I know what that is. I have never heard it called a "feeder" before!
CAMPFRIEND
04-11-2006, 06:46 PM
They are crazy!
KiwiCRB
04-12-2006, 12:09 AM
But they make things SO much easier!
CAMPFRIEND
04-12-2006, 02:51 PM
I guess once I get to know all of them!
SWTexan
10-16-2006, 03:22 PM
You all are going to have so much fun moving up in the ranks at you camps. I am a director right now. There are day that I wish I could still be a counselor or a unit leader. I don't get as much time with the campers any more, but a lot of time dealing with camper sick parents:eek:
My thoughts exactly on what it's like to be a director! I wouldn't change it for the world though.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.