City Kid Heads to the Mountains!
I deleted this sentence about 17 times trying to think of the perfect introduction for my first post. Though there are a few hundred words I could use to describe the moments I’ve experienced over the past month, a picture is worth a thousand of them. That said, here’s where I’ll be spending my summer:
For the past 8 years or so, I’ve always thought about dropping everything and becoming a summer camp counselor (or working at an overnight camp in some capacity). This year, I decided it was time to make that happen. Welcome to the Camp Oh-Neh-Tah experience. It’s not your average overnight camp. In fact, the programming here provides an enrichment experience that goes beyond your normal day-to-day camp activities. Here’s a bit more insight:
Our Summer Experiential Education and Development (SEED) Program is the foundation of all our programming and the point of entry for all girls who join Girls Quest. Each year, over 300 girls attend this two-week program at our summer site, Camp Oh-Neh-Tah, in East Windham, NY. This goal-oriented summer camp program helps to lessen the Summer Learning Gap by providing activities that stimulate girls’ learning and emotional development in an environment that is safe and nurturing while challenging girls to strive to their best potentials.
Pretty awesome, right? For the next month, I’ll be here working as the Assistant Camp Director and couldn’t be more thrilled. We’re wrapping up the final three days of our 10-day staff training and I’m truly honored to be working with and learning from such a phenomenal staff. They’ve come from all across the country (and the world – some for the 3rd, 4th and even 5th year in a row) and are devoting their efforts to making sure that our girls leave here with stronger academic, leadership and social skills. As a city kid (born and raised in NYC), I’m excited to be learning how to pitch a tent, build a fire, whip up a meal on something other than a stove, and survive in the great outdoors right along with our campers. I’m even more excited about being in a position to empower young girls from a background similar to my own. This summer, for two, two week sessions, we’ll be serving a population of 9-14 year old, at-risk girls from the New York metropolitan area and some of our activities will include: literacy, swimming, outdoor education, boating, sports, ceramics and textiles.
Of course, if we plan to teach this stuff, we have to prove that we can do it first! This week, in addition to a series of specialized staff training courses geared toward the camp’s mission, we took a hike around Silver Lake and gave our staff a skills challenge where they had 15 mins. to pitch tents and build a fire. I’m proud to say that they rose to the occasion and…well, see for yourself:
Camp starts up next Tuesday, July 5! We’re psyched for the first group of girls to arrive and are all set for an incredible summer. And guess what? I’m taking you all along for the ride. You’ll be hearing reading from me every week with an update on our camp adventures. Welcome aboard, =). Here’s to growth and good times.
Have a great 4th of July weekend,
Holley
I’d love to learn how to build a fire. I want to go camping now!