Parenting Guru: How working at summer camp changed my life

When (it seemed like) everyone else in college was working at summer camp, I was working hard to earn more money at one of the most boring jobs in the world. When I discovered I had a full scholarship to graduate school, I decided to take advantage of my financial freedom to participate in the (enviable) role of camp counselor.

I ended up spending four summers at that summer camp, and I would not trade that experience for any other that I have had. Don't get me wrong--it was one of the most grueling and most demanding jobs I have had, but it was also one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as well.

I didn't have a good summer camp experience when I was growing up, so I underestimated the impact that a week of camp can have on a child. Spending that concentrated amount of time with a group of six to eight kids offers phenomenal moments to speak into their lives and offer them support, encouragement and praise that many of them do not receive elsewhere.

Spending an entire summer devoted to service of others taught me about selflessness, hard work, and sacrifice. We were lucky if we managed to get our (required) two hours of break each day. On the weekends, we only had 24 hours off before we were back on task, getting ready for the next batch of campers. I had to learn how to manage my time, as well as figure out how to take care of myself mentally psychologically and physically with so many demands being placed on my shoulders.

The majority of my time at camp was spent acting as a counselor to the counselors. Again, I found that the job gave me opportunities like nowhere else to help students discover and develop their gifts and talents and to see their self-worth in way that is hard to see in any other context. Because of my time at camp, I changed career paths; I no longer wanted to be an English professor (it helped that I wasn't exactly excelling in my literature studies!) but I wanted to pursue a profession like counseling where I could have a more direct impact on touching people's lives.

Now I am happy to offer my own kids the chance to experience summer camp for themselves. And when they have an opportunity to work at summer camp in college, I will support wholeheartedly support them, even if it means they will make less money to pay for college the next year.

How about you? What kind of impact did summer camp have on your life?

photo by Melanie Myatt

You can read more of Melanie's musings at tales from the crib and (after)life.