A counselor remarked to me at one point this past summer that she had never been able to start off a box-stitch lanyard without tying it to a key ring first. When I shared the innocuous bit of skill with her so she could teach her campers one night before lights out, it was the next small step in passing down a nugget of knowledge from past generations of camp staff. So simple, yet so grand! Little did she know that a high staff return of 60% (or more) helps to make this possible each year. A strong commitment to positively impacting the lives of kids underlies that tradition, and enables us to sit together while we laugh at each others’ silly jokes, and look forward to being in our second home.

Maybe it seems ridiculous to choose sleeping in cabins, running around all day in the sun chasing after kids trying to get them to put on sunscreen, or taking a swim test for the 37^th time to encourage our camper to pass. And when they do? Amazing! We revel in small victories as a child’s confidence is built up, their skills are expanded, and lifelong memories and friendships are made.

I was just reminded that our staff essentially gets paid to go to amusement parks. Not bad, eh? And who will the Maccabiah captains be? Shh… it’s a secret, but certainly we must always choose from the compassionate, energetic, patient, organized, fun-loving young men and women that we look to hire from all over the country and around the world. Those days off trips to the movies are about to get a whole lot more interesting when you get to hang out alongside your Irish, Israeli, and Iowan co’s! And when the post-summer travel wraps up, and you’ve reminisced about the yodeling at the staff talent show, your campers watching you get hypnotized, or that you get three (3!) matzo balls in your soup at Friday night dinner – it’s no small wonder we want to come back for more.

We can always delve deeper into why being a counselor is the best summer job you’ll ever have and how the experience will allow you to be uniquely positioned for your future. Suffice to say, a new summer is already on the horizon – one that will be exciting and full of new experiences. Only 30 more Saturdays until we are together again!

-Adam Popper
Assistant Director

• Staff