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!