Working as a Specialist Summer Camp Counselor is a great way to spend a summer!
You’ll be working in the sun, teaching excited campers, and being paid to do what you love.
Your expertise means you’ll be a role model for the campers you’re teaching, and for the other Camp Counselors too.
Today’s Guest Blogger, Natasha, guides us through her three summers working as a Specialist Summer Camp Counselor…
I was lucky enough to spend three summers at camp in America. For all three, I was hired as a Specialist Summer Camp Counselor.
I was trusted with some of the more ‘dangerous’ activities on offer at camp like archery, fencing, and riflery.
Summer Camp is a great place for the kids to learn new skills. They want to get involved in everything, even if it’s just once!
I started fencing when I was a kid myself. My dad stuck me in a class on holiday so he could watch a football game!
I was there for about two hours and I loved it. We had a tournament at the end… and I won. From there, I was hooked.
When I got back to England, I joined my local YMCA group and took lessons every week and went on to compete at County level.
I passed my level one qualification in foil fencing, but I didn’t have enough money to go any further qualifications at the time.
It wasn’t until I applied to camp in America that I started fencing again.
I first picked up a bow and arrow when I was in Brownies. We went on a trip and tried lots of activities, like kayaking, climbing, archery, and hiking.
I just love sports which involve accuracy, so I took to archery like a duck to water. Archery isn’t a sport with lots of clubs by where I lived, but I’d got some experience.
After I added archery to my Summer Camp application, I was asked to teach some classes. I didn’t need a qualification, just the experience.
Before working at Summer Camp, I’d never had any previous experience of riflery.
I’d worked at camp the year before as a Fencing Instructor, and they asked me to run some riflery classes the following summer.
My dad was in the army, so I guess it was in my blood, but I’d never held a gun before.
The guns they used at camp were only BB guns and air rifles, but the kids still needed supervision and some help.
Camp helped me get a proper qualification, which was great to add to my CV!
