If you asked me after seven years of working for a resort campground what knowledge could I pass along, I would tell you to pull up a chair and listen to how a shy, reserved tween found her voice and a passion for connecting with people.
After concluding my seventh summer at Normandy Farms Campground in Foxboro as a recreation counselor, I would be able to recite the rules of any yard game with full confidence. Cornhole? I can run a tournament with 84 people playing in it in under two hours. Bingo? I can call 10 games in front of over 200 people. Tie-dye? I can tie t-shirts up in a spiral for 150 kids all waiting in line. If you have a game or activity, trust that I can run it and make sure everyone is having fun while doing it. However after working this past summer, I realized it was never about how well I could remember the rules of a game but how I could interact with guests.
I started at Normandy Farms when I was 14, the summer before my freshman year of high school. I was afraid of messing up and being the perfectionist that I am, I memorized all of the logistical aspects of the job. I was able to explain the activities we had at the campground, but I could tell I was missing something. My other coworkers were older, knew more people, and had made friends every summer with the guests that camped there. I wanted so badly to be like them and connect with campers, but didn’t know how.
I began to take more initiative in the job and became comfortable speaking in front of large crowds. While I dreaded talking on the microphone for more than a few minutes when I started the job, this year you couldn’t take the microphone away from me. I became confident in myself and knew that I was qualified to run events and direct guests. One example of this was our Casino Night fundraiser that we do every year, where guests of all ages play games and win “play money” that gets exchanged for raffle tickets. At the end of the night, everyone who participated gets to put the tickets in the raffle, and we call out the winners. This year I announced the raffle winners of the thirty-plus prizes we had in front of over 150 guests in our main hall— something I would never have imagined I would have been able to do when I first started.
I was pushed out of my comfort zone thanks to my coworkers, and my incredible boss Sharon. Through the years I became more confident in myself and more talkative. I discovered that my fear of people not wanting to talk to me was just that- a fear. Most people love to talk, they just are afraid to start the conversation too. I learned very quickly a simple question like “Are you from around here?” could spark a whole conversation that could end with creating a lasting connection with a guest.
After a few years in the role, I realized I enjoyed talking to guests. The advice that I received through talking to so many coworkers and campers shaped my college decision, and inspired me to look to go far away from home. I attribute my adjustment to going to a Big 12 school with an undergraduate enrollment of 60,000 after being in a small town to the fact I had skills from working at Normandy Farms that I was able to use. At the University of Central Florida, I became a Resident Assistant, and my people skills were put to the test as I now interact with the scariest group of people imaginable-college freshmen.
While I sometimes joke that I “don’t like people” I realized I actually did like people, and I liked it when I saw that I impacted a guest’s stay in a positive way. Something as simple as a parent saying they enjoyed the way that I ran an activity for their kids made me proud to be working the job. I reached a very full circle moment after connecting with a group of kids that camp all summer. It’s crazy to think that 10 years ago I was in their exact spot, following around whoever was working trying to help them set up an activity. This year I was now the one being followed and had the best helpers whenever I was doing bingo. I have full confidence that they will all become the next great generation of recreation workers, and I can’t wait to see them grow up and spend their summers the same way I did.
I can’t say enough about how working as a recreation counselor helped me grow in so many ways. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I had to work there and have never stopped using the skills I picked up from my years there. While I am not sure exactly what profession I will be pursuing after my college graduation, I know I want to find a position where I can continue to talk to people and offer any help or advice that I can.