A few weekends ago, I was on a retreat with the exec board of one of the clubs at the Y that I run. The retreat was held at Kanata, and it was great to be back. Though it wasn't the summer, just being at camp brings back so many memories, because so much of my life has been lived there. It still felt like home. Which I expected.

What I didn't expect was that when I took my club into arts & crafts, and we sat down on the floor, late one night, that emotion would overtake me like it did. As I explained to my kids why I had brought them there--that I wanted them to see the names painted all over the walls, that made up this beautiful picture of why people come back to camp summer after summer--the tears started streaming down my face.

As we talked about our vision for our club and our year, and as we looked around at the names--names of my counselors, my name, my friends names, names of my campers who are now counselors--we talked about leaving a legacy. We talked about how we could run the best meetings, or have the best teen center, or the most fun social events, but how, without the people, no one would want to come back.

I look back on my many summers at camp, and I don't think about the facilities or the activities that I did. I think about the people and the relationships that changed my life, and how all those memories, concentrated in 150 acres, make camp what it is for me. The reason I feel at home when I turn on that gravel driveway are the memories of all of my life that was lived right there.

Everybody Wins... Or Do They?

In the 8 or so years since I started working at summer camps and afterschool programs, I've heard the phrase "everybody wins" more times than I can count. Maybe the counselor forgot to keep score; maybe it wasn't quite clear who won, maybe they knew that they had a kid who would get really upset if they lost, or maybe they just said it because they'd heard it said so many times before. I'm sure I've said it a few times myself. But recently I've been hearing the phrase "everybody wins" a lot more than ever before, and every time I hear it, I cringe a little bit.

What are we teaching kids when we tell them that "everybody wins"? I'm not usually an incredibly competitive person--though I do have a competitive side that comes out every now and then--and I think that there is value in sometimes playing just to play, no keeping score. But when we start teaching kids that everyone wins, and therefore no one loses--will they know how to lose graciously later on in life? Nobody can win all of the time, and if we are teaching kids that they can, are we setting them up to fail?

I was in a meeting recently where someone was discussing a camp that had counselors at the archery range who would stand beside a kid who was struggling and shoot at the same time so that the kid would think they hit the target. I had a huge issue with this. Yes--it is a great feeling for a kid to hit the archery target. But if they didn't hit it on their own, it takes away the sense of accomplishment for all the kids who worked hard to hit the target on their own, and if the camper realizes the counselor did it for them, they lose confidence in themselves. Obviously we want to set kids up for success at camp, but there are great ways to set kids up for success without faking it.

One of the great things about camp is that it teaches kids so many life skills. Independence, friendships, responsibility, and a sense of community are all things that we tend to be intentional about teaching kids at camp. But what if we started being more intentional about teaching kids to lose graciously? What if we spent more time intentionally teaching campers that everything isn't always going to be easy, but that sometimes the things we work the hardest for are the things that end up meaning the most to us?

Summer Camps and Twitter

@CampLeadership and I co-wrote some written advice over at CampLeadership on summer camps using twitter--check it out here!

Memories

Staff week at Camp Kanata started today. This is the first staff week since 2003 that I haven't been at, and while I'm enjoying staff training and all of the preparations for Finley Day Camp--which starts in one week!--I would be lying if I said that I didn't spend a lot of time today thinking about what's going on over at Kanata.

As we've been going through day camp training over the past few weeks, my mind has often drifted back to Kanata. As excited as I am for this summer at FDC, it is hard to believe I won't be spending this summer walking the familiar paths and singing the songs and cheers I know so well. At our association day camp rally this past weekend, the Kanata director led everyone in "Vista"--one of the songs sung in the dining hall every Friday night--and so many Friday nights in the Kanata dining hall flashed through my head--standing on the benches, singing til my voice hurt, a little relieved that I was going to get to do my laundry and sleep the next day, but also a little sad because another week of camp was over.

Around this time of year, I always start measuring time by what is going on at camp--it isn't 1:30, it's rest period. This year I have a new schedule, and a new camp, but I know every year as summer rolls around, a piece of my heart will go back to Kanata and the memories of Makeover Mondays, daisy cheers, Friday night campfires, late nights hanging out in camp store, hours spent by the lake, and the best summers of my life.

The Test of Time

Last weekend was the leadership staff retreat for the day camp that I am working at this summer. It was great to meet everyone that I'll be working with and to start to find out some of the details of what this summer will be like, but for me, the best part of the retreat was getting to learn a little bit of the history of the camp. To wrap up our retreat, we had the opportunity to have brunch with the original director, and two of the staff who were around at the beginning--25 years ago.

Hearing their memories and stories of camp definitely got me excited for the summer, and it was great to start to understand the culture and background of FDC. The thing that struck me the most, though, was how clearly camp was impressed on these three people who worked there before I was born. They still had such a clear understanding of their vision, their purpose, and the impact that camp has both on campers and staff. Talking to them, you'd think that they'd worked at camp last summer, not 25 years ago.

One thing that our conversation touched on several times was how well working at summer camp had prepared them for their future. Again and again, they came back to how the things they had learned as camp staff had affected the rest of their lives--whether a teacher, a minister, or a stay at home mom, the experience had impacted them long beyond the time they were spending their summers in the woods, cheering 'til they had no voice, and leading kids in all kinds of crazy activities.

One of the greatest things about summer camp (day or resident), for whoever participates (camper or staff), is what an impact it can have on your life. Camp touches some peoples lives more than others, but for those of us who really fall in love with it... our lives will never be the same!

Makeover Monday

One of my FAVORITE things I did as a camp counselor was "Makeover Mondays". I was a counselor in the youngest girls cabin, and every Monday, cabin time was a huge hit with our campers.

What we would do:

1. Collect a bunch of makeup. Lots of nail polish, ridiculous eye shadow, outrageous lipstick colors, anything else we could find.

2. Spread it all out on the picnic table.

3. Give the campers free reign to give the counselors makeovers. Nails, hair, makeup--all fair game.

4. Go to lunch and show off our fabulous new looks. It usually looked a little something like this...

Campers often came back the next summer asking when we would get to do makeovers again, and they LOVED showing off their work to the rest of camp!

Saying Goodbye

In May, I'm starting a new job with the Y. Just 20 or so minutes down the road from where I am now--a great place, great people, a great job. I'm SO excited about it... it is a great opportunity for me, and I'm excited to get started. But starting a new job means leaving a place I love so much--and that is hard. I've been working at Kanata for about 1/3 of my life, and it is so much of who I am. I have learned so much from my time there, have met so many people that have changed my life, and have made so many memories that I will cherish forever. It will always be a part of me.

This weekend we had a mini-camp, and I was sitting down at the lake, watching campfire skits, as I have spent so many summer nights doing. Sitting there, surrounded by campers, watching the fire, singing familiar songs, and feeling so at home, I couldn't keep the tears from coming. I'm so excited about the future and about the new challenge of working at a great day camp this summer, but I know that every Friday night during the summer for years to come, my thoughts will drift over to the campfire that is going on down by the lake at a place that I love with all my heart.

There is no way that I can put into words all that Kanata has been for me and done for me, but it has shaped my life in so many ways, and it will always have a huge part of my heart... every year as the weather gets warmer and summer starts to roll around, I know I'll be going to Kanata in my mind.

Investing in People

This morning, I ran into my ALL TIME favorite camper. I know, I know, you aren't supposed to have favorites. But I do. This camper was in my cabin her first summer at camp, when she was 7 years old or so, and I had her several times after that, both in the summer and at mini-camps. We just clicked really well that first summer, and I've seen her enough throughout the years that we have maintained a great relationship. She is 12 now, and almost as tall as me, and seeing her this morning MADE MY DAY! Actually, probably my week!

We had so much fun reminiscing on past summers and camp memories, and I loved getting a chance to hear about how middle school is going for her and to catch up on life a little bit. As we were talking and laughing about different things, I remembered just how much I loved being a counselor! Getting to connect with kids, and as they come back year after year, having the chance to invest in them and watch them grow up is such an incredible experience, and really such a privilege.

As a 16 or 17 year old counselor, I don't think I had any idea that I would still be running into my campers after I had graduated from college, or that I'd have the chance to watch some of my campers grow up over 6 or 7 years... but I'm so glad that I've had that experience! It has really made me realize that so much of the power of camp comes from investing in people.

Investing in people--that is the thing about camp that changes lives. Whether you are investing in campers or camp staff, the things that they will remember in 5, 10, and 15 years aren't going to be the activities--it's going to be the people that took the time to invest in them. Not only that, taking the time to invest in others can (and will) change your life!

Camp + Facebook = Conversation

For the past year or so, we've been having the conversation of "what's the best way for us to utilize social media for camp?". We've been playing around with different things, and I think there are a lot of really great ways to use social media for camp, but the thing I've been most excited about recently is our facebook fan page. For a long time, we didn't do much with it, but with some of the facebook redesigns, it has become such a great tool! It is so easy to post pictures, videos, or comments--and it is so easy for campers, staff, and alumni to respond.

I've been going through old pictures trying to find fun things to put on there, which has been really fun in itself--I love seeing what camp looked like back in the 60's and 70's, and it's been making me think about many of my own memories from camp. But I think my favorite part has been trying to guess a question that will resonate with our "fans". Some I think more alumni will respond to, others current campers and staff--it's fun to see which I'm right about, and which posts end up being popular, and which don't.

So far, this picture of the waterfront in 1968 has gotten the most responses--and it has been great to hear everyone's memories related to the waterfront! I laughed out loud reading some of them, and I hope that our camp community is having just as much fun seeing what we post on facebook as I am having deciding what to post and reading the responses!

Camp in the Snow!

The entrance to camp

One of the fields

The leap of faith

The canoe docks

Thoughts on Customer Service & Critical Thinking

The other day, I was talking with my cousins, and we got on the subject of cell phones. More specifically, customer service with cell phone companies. Both of my cousins had horror stories of the awful customer service they had gotten with AT&T. One of my cousins has a good friend who owns 40-something Verizon stores, and she was telling us how at his stores, customer service is the big push. On the bottom of every single one of the receipts at any one of his stores, his personal cell phone number is printed. If an employee fails to provide good service, they are no longer employed. Customer service is their main focus. At those 40 something stores, customers are the top priority.

A little bit later I was reading Seth Godin's book "Tribes". I came across a quote that said

"Many organizations go out of their way to hire people who color inside the
lines, who demonstrate consistency and compliance. And then these
organizations give these people jobs where they are managed via fear."
(Pg 97)

This helps explain a lot of the bad customer service at places like cell phone stores and some of the crazy TSA airport security incidents--in following orders, people don't have the freedom to make judgements and decisions on a case by case basis. Everything is done strictly by the book, and in being scared to stray away from the pre-written rules, customers are alienated, because the rules don't always work for every situation.

So... as I do with most things, I started thinking about all of this through the lens of camp. How does it apply to us?

Camp is a great place to learn to deliver customer service. We deal with so many unique situations, that sticking strictly to the rules taught during staff training doesn't always work. Of course, there are important rules to learn before the summer starts but there is no way to come up with a rule to cover every single possible situation. And so camp staff are taught to think on their feet, to refer to the rules but then to improvise to make sure we are dealing with the situation at hand--not some pre-fabricated situation with a ready-made set of rules.

I think that one of the greatest benefits that camp can give to their staff members--and their campers--is teaching them how to make choices and decisions by using critical thinking skills.

I remember Sunday night after Sunday night during the summer, sitting in the dining hall with a new batch of campers, while our director would go over the rules for camp. They were quite simple--in fact, most know them as the YMCA Character Traits of honesty, respect, responsibility, and caring. Every Sunday he would tell us that those character traits summed up the rules for camp--and they do. If you take the time to run your decisions past those filters, you usually come up with the right answers.

If you are working anywhere that deals with people--most likely you will encounter situations that can't quite fit into the boxes we have set out, neatly organized by rules. But with a little bit of critical thinking, and the right filters to run your decisions by--you'll probably be just fine.

Rules can change and be hard to keep track of. Kids are going to school in an era that is more and more focused on teaching to the test, and less and less focused on letting them think for themselves. The less kids learn about critical thinking in school, the more valuable the camp experience becomes.

Benefits of Being a Camp Counselor

Recently, I've been seeing some conversation on twitter about the benefits of being a camp counselor--why should college students choose to work at summer camp instead of doing an internship and getting "real world" experience? I can only speak from the camp side of things, as I did my internship in college at summer camp, and since graduating from college, have continued to work at a summer camp. However, I know that the things I learned while working at camp have helped me in various areas of my life, and will continue to benefit me throughout the rest of my life, regardless of where I may be working or what I may be doing.

The 5 most important things that working at camp have taught me are:

1. Communication. Knowing how to communicate is essential for success at camp. As a counselor, I had to be able to communicate with campers, their parents, co-counselors, and figures of authority. I had to learn how to communicate to different audiences. I had to be able to communicate in serious situations, and how to communicate to campers when I wanted them to be silly. I learned that my age didn't determine the validity of what I had to say. I learned how to communicate with a group, and how to communicate with individuals. I learned how to communicate with people who were upset, or angry, or sad. I learned how to communicate when I was experiencing various emotions. Working at camp definitely enhanced my communication skills far beyond anything else I have experienced.

2. Flexibility. Sometimes you have things all planned out perfectly... and then a giant thunderstorm means you have a cabin full of crying, terrified kids instead of a cabin full of tired campers ready for bed. So, instead of tucking them in and having a few moments to yourself as planned, you have to turn on your Sound of Music CD and lead a sing-a-long to "My Favorite Things". Or maybe the fire alarm in a cabin won't turn off, no matter what anyone does (and regardless of the fact that there is no fire)... so you have to rearrange the dining hall so the campers can sleep on the floor. Pink eye puts your co-counselor out of commission for a day or two, and you have to adjust to having the cabin to yourself. You never know what's going to happen, and you have to be ready to embrace whatever does, with a smile on your face.

3. Creativity. I'm a planner. I absolutely love to plan. But working at camp taught me to think on my feet, and be creative about it. An activity isn't going as well as you had hoped? Throw a twist in it and see if that helps. Campers are bored of the "normal" arts and crafts? Let's have "paint your counselor day" instead. Getting ready to lead a game or tell a story and all of a sudden you forget how it goes? Make up a new one! Being a counselor taught me a lot about being able to let go of a plan that wasn't quite working and figure out something that did work on the spot.

4. Leading and Following. Working at camp taught me a lot about being leader. Not only did I lead campers, I also held positions where I was responsible for leading the staff--some of whom were older than me. Camp gave me the confidence to do that, as well as teaching me some valuable lessons about leading. It's always easier to lead those you have a relationship with. You need to be confident in your decisions if you want people to confidently follow you. An important part of leading is being present and aware of what's going on. At the same time, I learned a lot about following. Know who you are following and why you are following them. Don't blindly follow anyone--ask questions, and make sure you know why you are following this leader. Just because most people are following a particular person, doesn't mean they are right. Sometimes you have to be able to switch from being a leader to being a follower, or from a follower to a leader--it is important to be able to do both.

5. The best way to learn is to do. I was very fortunate that the director of my camp loved to delegate. As I moved up the ranks into leadership positions, I was given amazing opportunities to learn how to handle situations by actually handling them. While I always knew that I had the support of my director if I needed it, he allowed me to learn through experience. I was allowed to have difficult talks with parents, campers, and staff, and I was allowed to deal with situations he knew I could handle. Having that freedom to take on responsibility gave me a lot more confidence, because I knew my director had confidence in me, and it gave me the chance to get valuable hands-on experience. As a 19 year old, I was able to learn how to evaluate staff--by evaluating them. I learned what it was like to have to let someone go--by being a part of that process. I learned how to put together a staff training--by putting one together. The things I learned by having the freedom to try them have quite possibly taught me more than anything else.

The summers I spent at camp taught me so many valuable things that I will use throughout my life. I can't think of anything else I could have done during the summer that would have given me such well-rounded, hands-on experience in so many areas. The list of things I know how to do from camp ranges from belaying on a ropes course to running an industrial dishwasher to navigating the emergency room to teaching a child how to swim--and the list could probably run a mile or two long. Camp has given me an education that rivals the 17 years I spent in a classroom--and I had a lot more fun learning in the woods than I did in the classroom!