Making the Switch from Camper to Counselor

Camps activities are one of the things that many school children look forward to when summer comes. It is the time when they are free from the rigorous demands of school and they get to meet new friends, learn new things and discover more about themselves and other people in a new environment. Year on year, many happy campers go back to experience newer camp activities. These kids are just hooked on the fun and learning that summer camps bring.

Many happy campers who have grown up still want to spend time at these camps every summer. This time around, they return not as participants to the different camp activities but as camp staff – to pass on to younger children the memorable experiences that they have gathered over the years.

Here at Zodiac Camp, we offer these kinds of opportunities for our previous campers who want to work with us as camp counselors. Working as a counselor in Zodiac can be a gratifying experience for many reasons. Here are just some of them:

1. Being a Zodiac counselor gives depth to your resume. Exposing yourself to camp jobs like this reflect on the kind of person that you are – someone who is hardworking, reliable and dependable – the qualities of a good leader. Being a counselor also exposes you to deeper training and professional development and this allows you to enrich your personal and academic portfolio.  
2. You get to hone your social skills. When you were a camper, you were already exposed to different interactions when doing camp activities. Moving up to being a counselor stretches this skill, as you will be dealing with a more complex web of social interactions, from taking directions from your camp director, to liaising and working with other camp staff to dealing with new anxious campers who may not hit the ground running.
3. You have transitioned from being a follower to a leader. When you make the switch from being camper to counselor, you take on a more proactive approach. You are now the person that your campers look up to. You will manage a number of kids, give direction, resolve conflicts, and make calls. These responsibilities will sharpen your leadership skills and this can be beneficial as you deal with the challenges in the future.
4. You get to inspire kids. If there is one personal fulfillment that you can get from this camp job, it is to serve as an inspiration to kids. Because you were once a camper yourself, you will be able to genuinely empathize with what they are experiencing and guide them on how they can enjoy the camp activities to the fullest.
5. You spend your summer in a fun and caring environment with a worthwhile cause. You are back, wanting to be a counselor, because you have enjoyed the activities that summer camp has to offer. Not only will you enjoy the camp environment (again!), you will now even earn doing the things you love. Isn’t that awesome?

Moving up from camper to counselor is challenging but is totally worth your time. Here at Zodiac, we believe that being part of the camp staff is one noble experience as you get to guide young people to discover themselves in ways that can never be equally achieved when outside of camp. If you are interested to become part of this fulfilling mission, visit our website and submit your application for our available camp jobs today!