View Full Version : Why did you become a camp counsellor?
Did you have so much fun as a camper you just never wanted to leave? Or was it because you absolutely love working with kids?
Myself, it was by accident. I love the outdoors, and for my course I'm doing I had to do a week of work experience doing anything, the point was just to try something new. I had planned on working in a glasshouse, but decided last minute to go to a training week at a camp who were looking for new staff. I wasn't actually looking for a job - I just wanted to increase my self-confidence.
So why did you decide to become a camp counsellor?
I'm a quiet/shy person. So being a camp counselor is the last job someone would expect me to choose. When I first became a camp counselor, there weren't many jobs for me to choose from. I didn't want any of them, but I chose the camp counselor job because of the free food and transportation to and from camp every day. That was the main reason I chose it. As it turns out, I ended up loving it. I made a lot of friends, and I had a great time being with the kids. All of this went completely against my personality, which is what I still can't figure out. Why do I love to be a camp counselor? I'm definitely not a leader. But when it comes to camp, I'm great. It's strange. Despite still getting paid below minimum wage, I decided to return last summer. :P I plan on returning next summer as well. Next summer I also want to become a bus counselor because they get an extra $400, and the tips the kids on my give are very, very nice as well. Besides, after riding the same bus for two summers I know all of the kids.
I'm a quiet/shy person. So being a camp counselor is the last job someone would expect me to choose. When I first became a camp counselor, there weren't many jobs for me to choose from. I didn't want any of them, but I chose the camp counselor job because of the free food and transportation to and from camp every day. That was the main reason I chose it. As it turns out, I ended up loving it. I made a lot of friends, and I had a great time being with the kids. All of this went completely against my personality, which is what I still can't figure out. Why do I love to be a camp counselor? I'm definitely not a leader. But when it comes to camp, I'm great. It's strange. Despite still getting paid below minimum wage, I decided to return last summer. :P I plan on returning next summer as well. Next summer I also want to become a bus counselor because they get an extra $400, and the tips the kids on my give are very, very nice as well. Besides, after riding the same bus for two summers I know all of the kids.
Yeah, I know how that can be. I was diagnosed with social phobia at the beginning of this year, and I decided that I wanted to put myself in a leadership position, just to show to myself that I'm not as shy as I believe I am. I'm still far too timid sometimes for my liking, but I've been doing pretty good as a counsellor so far!
I remember my very first day of camp as a counselor. I was so nervous about it, my knees were shaking while I was on the bus. I sat in the very front of the bus in the seat across from the bus counselor. Luckily I knew her so I had someone to talk to. For the first couple day I didn't really say much. Last summer, the first day of camp I went to the very back of the bus! :P That shows how much I changed when it came to dealing with kids.
speedx5xracer
10-22-2005, 10:07 PM
I did it at first for the sole purpose of staying at the camp i attended as a kid. After my first week i realized i loved working with kids.
audur
10-23-2005, 05:33 PM
I used to go to camp when I was little, and while I loved being a camper, I never thought of becoming a counselor. My camp didn't have any good programs for girls over 13 or so I stopped going. Then, when I was 18, I saw a brochure for Camp America (I'm Icelandic), and decided that it'd be a fun thing to do sometime... and three years later I finally decided that it was time to apply to work at an American camp. I loved it so much that what was at first supposed to be "one summer only" turned into two summers... and I'm planning on going back next summer, and I want to go back for as long as I possibly can... but the thing is that getting to and from the US every year is kind of expensive, so I don't know how long I can allow myself to do it.
camper
10-23-2005, 09:45 PM
i go back to camp because its my favorite place in the entire world. i became a counselor to teach kids to love camp the way i do and to be with my "camp family!"
i go back to camp because its my favorite place in the entire world. i became a counselor to teach kids to love camp the way i do and to be with my "camp family!"
Camp is my favorite place as well. I wish our camp did winter reunions like other camps do. I'd love to be able to see the kids again, even if were just once. It's hard to wait all those months.
Indigo
10-23-2005, 11:40 PM
I went back to camp as a counselor because I always loved it so much. And actually, I didn't expect to be much good at it, I just wanted to be at camp at first. I've always been quiet and shy too, and lacked some self-confidence, so when they put me with the oldest girls, I was terrified that they'd walk all over me. But I found some great leadership potential I didn't know I had, not to mention a louder voice, and I proved my abilities to everyone on camp, including myself.
camper
10-24-2005, 01:21 AM
yeah dave at my camp we have a reunion in january and it's one of my favorite days of the winter!!!
martha27
10-24-2005, 02:41 PM
i'd just finished uni and thought now or never.......it's the best decision i ever made. i'd never worked with kids before or travelled abroad alone and was very nervous about the whole experience. but it turned out to be more than i could ever have imagained! :)
yeah dave at my camp we have a reunion in january and it's one of my favorite days of the winter!!!
You're so lucky. I'm jealous. :P
rockinsmiles
10-24-2005, 07:41 PM
I love camp. being a camper was great and so was being a CIT. I thought being a counselor would be a great way to spend the whole summer at camp (plus get paid to do it). However i got to admit i was a bit scared about spending the whole summer there with all that responsibility. Yeah i dunno why but camp always brings me out of my shell. im always so happy there.
I love camp. being a camper was great and so was being a CIT. I thought being a counselor would be a great way to spend the whole summer at camp (plus get paid to do it). However i got to admit i was a bit scared about spending the whole summer there with all that responsibility. Yeah i dunno why but camp always brings me out of my shell. im always so happy there.
Same with me. It brings me out of my shell as well. It's like my home away from home. I feel so comfortable there.
simdude
10-25-2005, 07:14 PM
good question ~imp! i becoming a camp counselor because it's one of the only jobs available to me right now. it seems like you all like it so much that i'll have a good time also.
camplover86
10-26-2005, 12:00 AM
I got a flyer in the mail about being a counselor, so it was kind of random! the first day of staff training i was SOOO nervous. But now i love my camp and can't wait until next summer!
I got a flyer in the mail about being a counselor, so it was kind of random! the first day of staff training i was SOOO nervous. But now i love my camp and can't wait until next summer!
I remember my first day of training. I was so nervous too. Luckily I ended up loving it. :D
simdude
10-26-2005, 09:58 PM
were you nervous on the actual first day of camp? im sure i will be...
I know I was nervous my first day of camp. The second day I was fine though because I knew a bit more of what to expect.
Indigo
10-26-2005, 10:49 PM
My first day as a counselor, I was so nervous... I was always quiet and shy, and because of my age, they'd stuck me with the oldest unit, so I had visions of my campers walking all over me... But my campers were nice, and so was my unit leader, and I did much better than I expected. I think it's a fairly common thing!
camplover86
10-27-2005, 12:04 AM
I was not nervous at all on the first day the campers were there. Our leadership team had prepared us really well and by then i had made some amazing friends!
I think next summer will be my best yet. I became friends with a lot of other counselors last summer. Even last summer, there were only a few counselors I knew. So the training days were hard because I was pretty much on my own. Assuming the guys I became friends with are in my age group, I'll have people to stick with which will make things easier.
melon4382
10-29-2005, 04:46 PM
I love working with kids and randomly saw something on the internet about working at a summer camp. I thought that would be a fun way to spend the summer so I started looking further into it. I applied at different places and heard from my camp director first. She offered me a position and I took it. I was really nervous and shy that first summer but I loved working with the kids. I came back for a second summer, had a great time, became more outgoing, and gained alot of leadership abilities. I cam back for a third, fourth, and fifth summer because I loved it so much. Summer 2006 will be my sixth summer at camp and I don't know what I'd do without it now. It's such a big part of my life and I love going back every summer. It's always a new and different experience that I love!!
I can't imagine the year I'll have to stop working at camp... That's going to be a sad summer.
CAMPFRIEND
10-29-2005, 08:34 PM
I started a campers when I was six and never looked back. I have to say after all of my years being a camp I wanted to give back!!! and I still am.
________
GL1500A (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_GL1500A)
Flukie
10-30-2005, 10:16 AM
I became a camp counselor because I had amazing staff as a camper that made me think camp was a perfect place - as I grew older, I learned that while it isn't completely true, it is the staff that make the camp.
This year, I cried all through CIT graduation (as I tried to lead it) because one of my campers I'd had since she was a Junior GS graduated to Intern. ::Bawls:: And she told me that when she grow ups, she hopes she can be just like me.
That's why I keep going back.
And she told me that when she grow ups, she hopes she can be just like me.
Doesn't it make you feel good when a kid says this to you? It's when this happens that you know you've gone BTCOD (beyond the call of duty).
CAMPFRIEND
10-31-2005, 12:34 AM
I spent 19 years at my old camp. I still have kids talking about me and I have not been there in 3 years. I love to just show up. Most of the admin staff were my campers when the were 7. I am getting old!!
________
Harley-Davidson FLHX (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Harley-Davidson_FLHX)
I spent 19 years at my old camp. I still have kids talking about me and I have not been there in 3 years. I love to just show up. Most of the admin staff were my campers when the were 7. I am getting old!!
Wow, that's pretty cool. Maybe one day, 10 years from now I'll be able to go back to my camp and see some of my past campers now dealing with their own bunks! That would be funny.
camper
10-31-2005, 04:57 PM
haha thats like all of my counselors who didn't go back but come visit on alumni weekend...we go out with them at night, it's really funny. and they see us with our own campers who a lot of times are the age we were when they had us...it's crazy!!! i'll never see myself as being that old.
martha27
10-31-2005, 05:34 PM
'my kids' become first year counselors next summer. i can't wait for them to have their own campers and experience all the great things that go along with that :)
CAMPFRIEND
11-01-2005, 10:18 AM
It's great to see that you might have made some campers want to be staff...Seeing the as staff somtimes is scary. I know that is what some people thought of my. And lokk how I turned out
________
weed vaporizer (http://weedvaporizer.info)
ocean
11-01-2005, 06:48 PM
I became a counselor to make the kids feel at home and make them laugh and smile
Skater Bubbles
11-01-2005, 10:28 PM
I love KIDS!!! and I love camp!!!
CTarantine
05-27-2007, 07:56 PM
I went to Girl Scout camp as a camper probably a million times. I loved it. I truly thought it was the best. I have worked at a Day Camp for three years, and I feel wonderful there. It was a wonderful experience. I have planned that camp for the last two years and have been a CIT for two years. Haha, I got a huge promotion from CIT to senior counselor, who planned it.
Now, I am going to work at a resident camp as a lifeguard. I am scared to death but have never been this excited. I have worked at camps and been at camps forever and feel very comfortable around kids. But, I remember going to the camp I went to for an interview, and it was the weridest thing ever. Walking into the mess hall and being there. I think if I actually ended up working there, it would be very werid. But, I am working at another GS camp.
Smudge
05-27-2007, 10:03 PM
I went to guide camps and church camps a youth and loved them and when I was at college seen a flyer for CA - that was it I had my heart set on doing that. It took several more years before I was able to get to camp but i loved and when you have that moment where you break down a campers barriers it is that moment that makes you want to go back every summer cos it is the most amazing feeling.
Possuumm
05-28-2007, 12:25 AM
been going to camp since i was 8- both day camps and resident camps....worked at day camps for 3 years, a week long resident camp for 2 years, and now i'm working at my original resident camp =] i loooooooove camp
happy_camper
05-28-2007, 02:26 PM
Well, it was only natural for me. I have been going to the same girl scout camp since I was 4. I moved all the way up until I went through the CIT program and now am a Junior Counselor.
The Special Needs camp I am volunteering at the summer (the 2nd camp I talk so much about) I am doing because of school service hours (required). Since I love GS camp so much, I figured I would enjoy doing my service hours in a camp setting.
prideeinpynk
05-30-2007, 12:08 PM
I've been to camp before, but mostly a small one at the barn I rode at. However, I did do a week at a YMCA camp in Maine, and it was one of the greatest weeks I've ever had.
Also, I wanted to do something different with my summer since I will be graduating from college next May. :D Live in CA? Make some money? Have some fun? Sounds better than waitressing all summer here in FL!
campnerd99
05-31-2007, 08:11 PM
I grew up at camp admiring all of my counsellors so now that I'm old enough to be one of those "super cool counsellors" I want to make the same difference in a kids life that my counsellors made on mine. =)
Plus I get to spent the whole summer swimming, playing games and singing songs while my friends back home work at Wal-Mart.
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