Right, imagine getting the opportunity to work in America for three months (paid might I add) as a sports counsellor and then get the opportunity to travel America after. This was a done deal for me, I would’ve been sold after reading that alone. In this blog, I’m going to talk you through what a typical day in the life of a Camp Counsellor is like. If you get the opportunity to do this in your lifetime, jump at it and grab it with both hands.
Let me give you a little rundown of what it was all about. So, I was a camp counsellor at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in upstate New York. Long lake is a specialist camp with all the traditional camp activities. I looked up different photos online of what the camp would look like and lists of the activities offered but you really have to see it to believe it. There were theatres, circus areas, a huge lake and the list goes on. Long Lake is a sleep-away camp, which means that campers spend the nights sleeping in cabins. There can be up to about thirteen children in each cabin along with 3 counsellors with only three toilets… so as you can imagine in the mornings, 3 very annoyed counsellors waiting for 13 fifteen year olds to get ready, I’ll say no more. For me every day was different, one day I was paintballing, the next I was doing high ropes, every day in camp is a new experience. Some days are harder than others as you have to remember you are in a foreign country working crazy hours and are probably a little homesick, but it’s so important to remind yourself why you are here, don’t let these little setbacks ruin your experience, fight through them and trust me once your past the week 1 mark, you’ll not want to leave.
Mornings at Camp!
Rise and shine. The first task of the day as a Camp Counsellor is to get the kids up and excited for the day ahead! This can be a difficult task as a 7.30am start didn’t seem to excite many of the kids (including myself). The best method of getting everyone up and ready for the day ahead was lights on and music blaring, each day someone different got to choose the music. The fact that the camp I worked at was a performing arts camp there was sooo much talent, like these kids were insane so meal times especially would be full of singing and dancing which brought a real buzz to the place. The breakfast itself was well let’s just say it was very American, the sugar high was real, but I wasn’t complaining.
Activities
After breakfast is a cabin inspection which is a real pain in the a** (if you don’t pass). Then time for the activities to start. At Long Lake, the kids choose their own schedule every day, they literally can do anything they want, it’s our job as counsellors to promote our activities so each morning and afternoon we would hold a camp meeting where the head of each department tried to promote their activity to let each of the campers know what’s going on in that particular day.
The options are bottomless really, if they want to do something, we found a way to do it, which was challenging at times but kept me on my toes.Activity time is time for specialist counsellors such as myself to head in their separate directions to teach the different activities. I was the head of the sports department so a typical day for myself was first of all creating a schedule for the different members within the sports department then from there I would take kids down crazy ATV trails or take them out on the jet skis, really whatever they wanted to do, I was doing it.
Every day I got a period off, which I usually took later in the day to give me a chance to ring home, other times I would get involved in an activity at camp which I was not familiar with the different activities on offer meant that you could learn a new skill or try something different every day! I tried everything camp had to offer, even daring to go on the flying trapeze in the circus, all I can say is fair play to the circus staff, once was enough for me.
Evening Activities
After dinner was a chance to chill out with campers and friends and get ready for our evening activities. Personally, this was my favourite time of the day because it was recognition of another day well done and also most of the time we got s’mores. Eve
ry evening at long lake a new activity was on offer, our evenings would be spent watching performances, bonfire nights, ice cream socials or camping trips away to our local campsite. They really thought of everything.
Nights at Camp
When evening activities finish, ill not lie I am completely shattered at this point, you’re on the go from 7am-10pm. At long lake counsellors work on a rota in the evenings. One counsellor and a CIT (Counsellor in Training) take care of the kids and settle them for the evening. The other two counsellors can take the evening off. I oversaw the oldest girls, trying to get 35 16-year-old girls to go to bed before 11pm was a complete task in itself, thankfully it was only once a week! What do I miss most about my nights at camp? Simple… the lake. On one of my last nights at camp, the capers asked me if we could go to the lake and stargaze. I’d never seen so many stars in my life, the Adirondack sky truly lit up it was by far one of my highlights of my camp experience.
Yes, the days are long, you may miss home but my experience at camp honestly made me mature in so many different ways, it opened me up to a different career opportunity, it allowed me to experience a different culture and overall it allowed me to have a summer of a lifetime with some of the best people I’ve ever met, I know may sound cliché but it’s the truth.
So, what are you doing this summer?
Rachel Magee is a final year BSc in Communication Management & Public Relations student at Ulster University. She can be found at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelmagee98 and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-magee-52328016b/