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Group of 5 people surrouding campfire, three of the people are holding sticks, one man is in a swimsuit
Group of 5 people surrouding campfire, three of the people are holding sticks, one man is in a swimsuit
Photo by Ball Park Brand from Unsplash
Career > Work

Working As A Summer Camp Counselor

Updated Published
Jessica Taylor
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bradley U chapter.

I’ve been going to summer camp for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love camp, so when I graduated from my camper days, it only made sense to transition into staff.

This year will mark 10 years at my favorite camp, and 3 years of working at it.

There is something so special about spending hot summer days doing fun activities in a week-long group sleepover. Camp changed my life as a camper, and as a counselor, I get to initiate the moments I loved so much.

That’s not to say camp is easy: working a summer camp is probably one of the hardest things I do. Working at camp means you are a parent, teacher, therapist, babysitter, pastor, first-aider and a mentor to these kids; all at the same time.

During the summers, I work 24/7. I am always on call and ready to go. Even during my off hours, I am thinking about how my campers are doing and figuring out what else I can do to make their week at camp a blast.

Camp means I am constantly moving: supervising my kids, running activities, and helping other staff. I don’t take many weeks off and usually jump straight from work to school.

But the friendships made makes it all worth it.

I am not exaggerating when I say that camp staff is a family. I have never worked a job that so cares so deeply about it’s employees. My “bosses” are always checking up on me and encouraging breaks.

My coworkers and I all look out for each other. There is some deep bonding that happens during summer training, friendship is natural. There’s always someone I can rely on, whether I’m on a fun break or having a hard time.

And the kids… they make every second valubule.

I love getting to leave an impact on the kids, to watch their faces light up, and see the memories they will store for years. I truly care about each and everyone of the kiddos I have the opportunity to interact with, and there have been some really sweet moments.

Just one example is when I broke my toe on campus and two campers that I had interacted with, but weren’t in my group, bought me red airheads from the canteen to “help it feel better”.

I am a people person, and nothing has helped me form closer connections and deeper bonds than camp.

I don’t know how long I will be able to keep my summers free for this job, but I am going to make every minute of what I have left count.

Jessica (or Jessie) is a Sophomore at Bradley University, majoring in Advertising/Public Relations and User Experience Design with a minor in Creative Writing. Jessie helps as the co-social media coordinator for Bradley U's Chapter of Her Campus. She loves being involved as the Bradley Speech Team's PR Chair, an Assistant Residential Advisor, the Bradley Scout's Social Media Manager, and more! When not running around loving her busy schedule: she enjoys reading a good fiction book, biking, sudoku, creating fake websites and flyers, and doing various little craft projects. Jessie is passionate about the power of communication and loves to write - hopefully you like to read! :)