In this next installation of Catherine D.’s blog this summer, she explores our high school leadership program.
Camp is a place where hard-earned lessons are learned as girls emerge from their comfort zones and work to expand their capabilities. Being introduced to leadership skills from a young age is an especially vital part of the Keystone Camp experience, which is mirrored in the structure of camp as girls gradually transition from camper to counselor. Our by-invitation-only leadership program begins the summer after campers finish the 9th grade, and consists of 3 years of different roles as a camper transitions into staff: Leaders-in-Training (LITs), Aides, and Counselors-in-Training (CITs). Each group is given a cumulative amount of responsibility, with each year focusing on certain facets of leadership skills at Keystone.
LITs serve as team games captains, lead Assembly each morning, set the Dining Hall for one meal a day, and help babysit cabins on staff meeting nights. The LIT experience is one of my favorite parts of camp, and was definitely one of my favorite years as a camper. For this age group, it’s an exciting new role that means not only participating in and experiencing the magic of camp, but also helping to foster and uphold it. It’s exciting as a 15-year-old to feel that first rush of trust and encouragement from those you look up to, all while beginning to truly understand and appreciate how much work goes into making camp what it is. It is a year of pulling back the curtain bit by bit and revealing the inner workings of camp, identifying and explaining all the cogs that make this machine run smoothly.
I had the opportunity to be LIT Director last year, and much of my experience felt like reliving this wonderful age from a new vantage point. In our leadership meetings, it was exciting to share with the girls both the things I learned from my LIT year and the new things I’ve learned since being on staff. It was immensely inspiring to witness my campers blossom into this role.
The following summer, after the girls have finished the 10th grade, they serve as Aides. The girls are still campers, enjoying all the aspects of spending the summer at camp. But they also step into additional leadership responsibilities. The Aides set the Dining Hall for one meal a day, do dishes in the morning after breakfast, run the refill window at all meals, help babysit, help run the tuck shop during both tuck periods, and help counselors teach in at least one activity period. The Aides also spend most nights planning and preparing for Banquet, which is held on the final night of camp, during which the dining hall is covered in decorations pertaining to the chosen theme (which is kept top secret before the big night!). It is a difficult year to say the least. Time management is one of the most important and hard-earned skills for this age group. Girls begin to realize that it’s difficult to help out around camp, work with each other, and work on Banquet, all while trying to get the rest they need. But, I would argue that the trials and growing pains of the Aide experience contribute to one of the most memorable and rewarding years in our program.
As Aide Director this summer, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing first hand the triumph these girls experience as their time as a camper comes to a close. During the June session, I noticed that there’s a specific look that crosses each Aide’s face during Banquet, after the big reveal of the theme, and during all of the festivities. As they look around and take in all the work they’ve done throughout the session, you can almost see them flipping through all the memories and friendships they’ve made along the way, with gratitude and content flooding their eyes (along with many happy tears). It’s a powerful experience to realize just how much one is loved and cared for in Keystone’s community. And as their director, it’s a special honor to be able to guide these girls through this process of growing up and saying bittersweet “see you laters.”
The CIT year arrives after junior year of high school and is considered a staff position. The girls complete the staff application, and go through the same interview process as all other staff. Unlike other staff, however, CITs are only at camp for one session. Each one of them is assigned a cabin in which they live and are responsible for campers, typically paired with a more experienced staff member as their co-counselor. In addition, CITs are also responsible for serving milk and cookies after some evening programs, as well as being support staff for certain team games events. The CIT role can be daunting to step into, as it is a completely different aspect of camp. It can be hard to reconcile the feelings of longing to be a camper again with the anxiety of being trusted with the lives of your cabin full of children. It’s a strange but tender feeling, giving back to the community that raised you and realizing how much impact you’ve had on younger campers over the last few years.
Much like Aide year, it’s difficult and taxing to say the least. For example, during my CIT year in 2020, my camper’s very wet pillow kept getting taken out of the dryer in the counselor’s room (where staff do their personal laundry), and I sat down and cried about it. Not so much because of the pillow, but because I was overwhelmed, out of my comfort zone, and missing my days as a carefree camper. But I came back to the cabin with a slightly less wet pillow for a very grateful camper, and to this day I still laugh about that story with that same camper (who is now an LIT this summer). Needless to say, the CIT year is physically and emotionally taxing, but it could not be more worth it. And the same could be said for each year in our leadership program.
I could not possibly think of a better place than Keystone to make mistakes, learn hard lessons, and try again. Everyone here carries an immense amount of grace for each other because we’re all learning something new, we’re all failing, and we’re all getting back up each morning. From wet pillows to lost laundry to scraped elbows and knees, camp is a place of blunders, apologies, and most of all, forgiveness. And this is earnestly extended to our girls who are learning the ropes of leadership and understanding how it all works behind the curtain.
