by Matthew Ghan, Summer Assistant Director

1. You be YOU! Be your authentic awesome self! You have a gift to bring to our campers, and they are a captive audience ready to engage, learn and have their world brightened. They need to and want to learn from you. You are a superhero at camp and should be ready to take your superpowers seriously!  

2. All the feels  Ready to be serious? Be ready for it all! Our campers can run the entire spectrum of emotions and need counselors that are ready to support them at every moment. Make sure to listen, validate and know when to reach out to others for help in supporting our campers. In one moment you will be in a goofy costume and the next you might be helping a camper work through a challenge–all with the same goal of supporting our campers!

3. Learn & Teach Are you ready to be an educator? Are you ready to be a student? As a staff member, you need to be ready to teach campers what you care about most. Camp education may not always be in a formal program, but could be during a casual walk or when you are going to the pool. You  will learn so much from our campers! Our campers also want to teach you what matters most to them.  

4. Bring Judaism Alive! At camp, everyone is at a different place with their Judaism. Feel proud of where you are, whether you are confident or wanting to learn more! Many of our campers might be in the same place with their Judaism. Try new things and lean into learning something new! (This can be for everything at camp, not just Judaism!) 

5. I LOVE CAMP! You should be ready to love camp! Camp means getting silly, dancing it out, singing out loud, trying new things, teaching others, learning, and embracing our holy camp community–we can’t wait to see you there!