Things have really gotten quiet around camp. Coming down to the office is no longer accompanied by the sounds of everyone waking up, the cheerful “Good Morning!” greetings, or music as cabin clean-ups start, but is instead replaced by a breeze that carries the whispers of winter and crunchy leaves.
One of the highlights of my weeks around this time of the year are the interviews I get to conduct. Right now, we are in the midst of interviewing girls who have completed their last year as campers and who want to become CITs (counselors-in-training). I look forward to these phone calls because not only do I get to chat with our girls and catch up, but I also get to look forward to next summer. Nothing brings me more hope than talking with these up-and-coming staff members about why they love camp and what they hope to bring to summer 2024.
The first question we ask is, on the surface, very simple: “Why do you want to be a counselor?”. It would be easy for these girls to give a prescribed answer, something that would impress school counselors and college admissions officers alike, but what I get to hear is something far more nuanced. The girls are able to reflect on their entire time here at Keystone, and you can see every influence that has led to this moment. More often than not, there was a specific counselor or person they could look up to, who made them want to be a camp counselor. One of the girls I interviewed recently stated, “After my second year at camp, I went home and told my parents I wanted to be a counselor.” She was 10 years old at the time and we talked about how rewarding and exciting it was to finally get to this point, seven years later.
We ask a lot of our CITs. Not only do they have to navigate the pressures and stresses of being a new staff member, but they also have to navigate the transition out of no longer being a camper. Don’t get me wrong, a camper’s LIT and Aide years come with a lot of practice of serving and giving back to the camp community, but nothing compares to actually making the switch. For a CIT, camp goes from being all about you as a camper, to becoming all about the campers you now serve. For some, this is an easy transition, and I applaud those girls. For others, it means relearning your place at camp, sometimes even feeling left out. For some, it may mean taking a year off to learn and grow.
There are many ways to navigate this transition and Keystone is here to help the girls, whether or not they come back for their CIT year. Some of our best staff members have been those who took some time off before coming back as counselors. It’s easy to think of a year to grow as a rejection. I hope that both the CITs who return to camp and the girls who come back after a year or two know they are held equally in our minds; that they are equally aware of themselves, of their strengths, and of their weaknesses. They are admired and supported by myself, Izzy, Jazz, and the entire camp community.
Keystone Camp exists to guide and support all of our girls. There is so much we can learn about ourselves through our experiences both at and away from camp. We are then able to reflect on where our greatest strengths lie and what roles we are best suited to fill. We are so excited for summer 2024, when camp comes back to life after nine months of planning, training, and doing normal (boring) office work. It’s during these times that nice conversations with new staff, returning campers, and returning staff remind me there is a light at the end of the winter tunnel!
We are literally counting down the days (less than 250 now) until we get to say “Welcome to Camp!” and we hope you are as well.
