Job Benefits

ALL I NEEDED TO START MY CAREER I LEARNED AT SUMMER CAMP!

Working at a summer camp can be the very best way for a college student to spend the summer.

It can help develop valuable personal skills that will be used in life and apply to any kind of career. Many kinds of employers look for the talents that summer camp excels in delivering:

  • Communication
  • Teamwork
  • Leadership
  • Autonomous responsibility
  • Innovation
  • Problem-solving
  • Conflict management

Every summer, students are faced with the decision of what to do. It's seldom an easy choice. And it's filled with lots of questions.

  • What do I want to do?
  • How much can I earn?
  • Where do I want to be?
  • What will I learn?
  • How can I contribute and make a difference?
  • How will it help me?
  • Will I enjoy it?

Of course there are lots of options: internships, high paying labor, volunteer work, classes, travel, and summer camp.

Each option offers its own rewards, but working as a counselor at a summer camp has proven to be one of the best!! Spending a summer in the outdoors, leading and participating in recreational activities, learning how to work with kids, meeting and working with staff from other parts of the US and abroad, besides actually getting paid for it!

Now there is proof! Read what a bunch of college students said recently about how working at a summer camp helped them. Think about how it may all apply to you.

College students who have been camp counselors recognize the skills they've developed:

"Communication skills are a biggie. You learn to talk in front of people."

While working at a summer camp, college students have to communicate with a variety of different people in different ways:

Children, Colleagues, Directors, Parents, One on One, small groups, large groups, Conversations, Discussions, Public Speaking, Reports to Directors, Evaluations…

"You learn what it is like to be part of a team. You need to work together to find common ground."

Summer camps are built around teamwork. Team building activities during camp training help. Jameson Ranch Camp hires a staff of about 35 people and emphasis is placed on the power of teamwork. People find new ways to work together.

Counselors are from diverse backgrounds and provide a living laboratory for practicing cooperation and conflict resolution. Our team is filled with interesting, unique and talented people where lifelong friendships are formed. It is rewarding to be a part of a team that is focused on children and their healthy development. At JRC, we have 20 to 25 senior counselors, 3.5 cooks, 1 head cook, and 6 to 10 junior and assistant counselors.

The directors and owners are Ross and Debby Jameson, Pete Iversen and Erica (Jameson) Brewer are assistant directors. Mia (Jameson) Rudd is office manager and helps with many program areas.

Now, back to the quotes:

"It was an opportunity to have a leadership role. You learn about your leadership style."

It is up to the counselors to make sure the groups work well together. The children look up to them to provide direction for the summer.

"I got to see the tangible results of what I did. I learned a lot about how to work under pressure."

The success of each child's summer depends on the counselor taking responsibility to make sure things happen. The reward is easy to see in the eyes of the kids at the end of camp.

"I had to figure out how to be adaptable. You stretch and grow and learn new things every day."

Camp encourages innovation. Every group of campers and every group of counselors is different than the one that preceded it. Their talents are different, and so are their interests. If you develop a new activity, it can become part of the camp program. At JRC, that is how we grow and improve.

"No matter what the problem is, you can find a way to solve it. Trying to solve problems that arise pushes you to your limit."

Everyday, there are problems to solve. Some will be small but others will be significant. You never know what to expect, so you have to be ready for anything. You learn to pay attention to all of the details in order to prevent problems in the first place.

"You can't choose who you work with. Learning to be flexible and accommodating to different personalities gives me a good edge"

Kids living together for a couple of weeks or a month sometimes disagree.

Perhaps for the first time, they are participating in a group setting without the immediate safety net of their parents. Counselors get to find productive ways to resolve the broad range of inter-personal conflicts that can occur.

"You have a chance to build friendships with different types of people. You get to see new aspects of different parts of the world."

Camp is filled with children from many backgrounds and countries. Because of international programs, the staff, too, can come from almost anywhere in the world. This day-to-day contact with such a wide range of people can add to a person’s understanding of the increasingly global diversity of our culture.

Employers understand the benefits that working at a summer camp delivers. Many were counselors during their college years and vividly recall how their summers on the staff provided a foundation of personal skills to help them develop successful careers.

"Camp meant independence, Teamwork, adventure, leadership, and fun, fun and fun! It meant becoming responsible to a group and to oneself. And it meant Accountability, guidance for others, and freedom to achieve."

Where else can you have fun while accomplishing such wonderful, important growth and acquire life’s excellent skills???