The Daily Routine of a Camp Director During Summer

If I could earn a dollar for every time I've heard someone say "you're a camp director! That sounds so fun," I could be a rich woman. I've also occasionally come across the person who asks, "What do you do all day?" For those who are wondering, here is a sneak peek into my life as a camp director during peak season. 

5:00 am: Wake-up call

I wake up at 5:00 am each day to ensure that I can get a head start on all of the emails, office tasks, and parent contacts that I won't have time to complete later. As soon as the alarm goes off, my feet hit the floor. Depending on the day, there might be time for a quick shower. If not, I go to my "ready in 5-minutes routine." Before leaving my cabin, I ensure that I have all the essentials for the day (rain jacket, flashlight, bug spray, etc). I then begin my 10-minute walk to the office center. 

Once I arrive in the office, I usually spend the first hour of my day responding to emails. You might be surprised, but as a camp director, I get a LOT of emails from frantic parents. Once emails are responded to, I take a look around the main camp and ensure that everything got cleaned up from the previous activities. Did the trash get taken out? Is the shower house clean? Are there any clogged toilets? By the time I finish with my rounds (assuming I don't get interrupted), I head over to the morning energizer. Sometimes I end up lifeguarding, leading archery, or leading a craft before breakfast even starts. 

During breakfast, I either eat (while secretly monitoring the dining hall) or I have to have a "come to Jesus" with the three staff who just can't seem to function together. Occasionally, I don't make it to breakfast due to extra set-up, presenters, or some sort of random disaster. 

9:00 am: Activities, Emails, Going Crazy

By 9:00 am, most of the campers come down for their morning activities. If we happen to be short on staff, I might end up lifeguarding or leading an activity. Most of the time, I end up in the office responding to more emails and voicemails. This is also my time to contact presenters, field trip leaders, bus drivers, etc. to ensure that they didn't just forget about the activity we had set up five months ago. 

This is also typically the time when shit starts to hit the fan. From overflowing toilets to the naked camper who refuses to leave the shower house stall because they want to go home, there is always something to take up my time. 

12:30 pm: Lunch?

Lunchtime is a wonderful time when you get the chance to eat. Most of my meals are taken on the go so that I can go deal with whatever issues did not get resolved in the morning. Oftentimes, my lunch is spent having yet another "Come to Jesus" with the staff who just can't seem to function. 

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm: A Break in the Day

During this time, campers have "me-time." This is a time where they relax, recharge, and most importantly are nowhere near the main camp. Occasionally, this is my time to take a short nap to prepare for the rest of the day, however, usually I get called to the unit to assist with a crying camper, clogged toilet, or occasional wasp sting. This is also the time to get the mail and send out bunk notes which is typically the job of my Assistant Director, but sometimes end up being my job when shit hits the fan. 

3:00 pm: More Activities, Emails, Going Crazy

The afternoon is essentially a repeat of the morning, however, on certain days we have check-outs, which means that I need to be up at the office ready to check out campers going home. 

6:00 pm: Dinner

On most nights, 6:00 pm signals the time to sit down and enjoy a delicious meal. At times, 6:00 pm means doing the laundry that never got finished in the afternoon, restocking first aid kits, putting away supplies, or contacting parents. 

7:00 pm: All Camp Activity

Of course, all-camp activity involves everyone at camp (including the director). From running around playing capture the flag for hours to hiding by the famous camp snake during hide and seek, it is always sure to be a great time. 

9:00 pm: Preparing for Bed?

This is the time when the campers start to head to bed or participate in after-dark activities. This is when I fill in wherever needed. Usually, my night involves a late-night shower house clean or mopping floors. At times, I end up assisting with the "extremely homesick" campers. 

10:00 pm: Bedtime... 

By 10:00 pm, most of the campers are asleep and it feels like the right time to wind down. Then it happens, a walkie call. Typically the nightly walkie call involves the furthest unit and takes a fair amount of time. It might be some things medical (sometimes I am the backup nurse), a homesick camper, or trouble with an animal. Whatever the reason, I will end up making the trek to where I am called before heading off to bed. 

When the day is finally done, I head off to bed and hope that I won't be woken up to the sound of the walkie again. Some nights are better than others. Eventually, I fall asleep to thoughts of what the next day will bring. 

How I Became a Camp Director

Here is the story of how I became a camp director. Sorry, it's a bit of a long one: 

 In 2015 during my sophomore year of college, I decided to quit my job working as a manager at Mcdonalds'.  I had worked at the mac shack for 6 years and it was time for a change. I took a desk job in my dorm room which was perfect for the school year, but I needed another job during the summer to help pay my college tuition. I originally started applying at daycares, but then remembered my fond memories of going to summer camp and figured I would check out camp counselor positions. Unfortunately, the camp that I attended as a child went out of business the year I completed my counselor in training course or CIT for short. I looked for similar camps in my area and was soon my inbox was flooded with interview opportunities. 

It didn't take long for me to find the perfect camp and accept an offer as a camp counselor. I accepted the position in March and would start my new journey in June of 2015. As June came closer, I was terrified!! It would be my first real experience away from home (I lived in the dorms in college, but was only a 20-minute drive from home) and I would not know anyone upon arrival. Would the other counselors like me? Would I be able to handle the heroic job of a camp counselor? All of these fears aside, my parents dropped me off at camp in June with what I now know is WAY too much luggage. Once all of my luggage was unloaded, my parents left and said goodbye for the summer and I started what I didn't know at the time would be the best experience of my life. 

Just for giggles, here is a picture of me getting ready to lifeguard my first pool party of the summer! 

It turns out that LOVED being a camp counselor and being at camp. It was by far the best job I ever had and I made friends that I am still friends with today (8 years later). There were SO many great experiences during my first summer, but I'll share the one that sticks in my mind to this day. 

It was the second week of camp and my co-counselor and I were in charge of troop camp. This meant that we had to deal with not only campers but also a group of parents. It was our day to go swimming in the lake and we were running about 5 minutes behind because our troop had been in the bathroom for quite some time. Eventually, I decided to politely knock on the bathroom door to see what was going on. I figured maybe there was a clogged toilet or a sink had overflown. What I did not expect was a camper crying on the floor and a troop leader handing me a tampon and saying "I think it would be better if you tried it." I explained to the troop leader that the camper did not need a tampon in to go swimming, but the troop leader insisted otherwise and I insisted that I try to help the camper insert their tampon. To this day, I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I grabbed the tampon, said "3, 2, 1 blast off" and assisted the camper with their issue. Today I would never do this for several reasons, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. It is a moment that serves as a learning experience and still provides a good laugh. 

Fast forward a year and I'm still in college working on my degree in Elementary and Special Education. My goal was to become an elementary school teacher. I loved camp so much that of course, I applied again and decided to come back. During my second summer, I took on the position of Unit Coordinator, which is like a lead counselor. Surprisingly, even after sticking a tampon up a camper's vagina, I was hired back in a leadership position. I guess I must have done something right. While I still loved camp, I got to see firsthand how a few bad apples in the staff can affect the entire group. By the end of the summer, half of the staff had either quit or been let go. Regardless, I made the best of it! Here's a great learning experience from my second summer at camp:

The theme of the week was Girl vs. Wild. This meant that we were supposed to spend most of our time outdoors (as camp should be) and rough it. I was placed with a group of middle school girls, so I figured what better activity than having our campers build shelters and sleep in them. It would be an opportunity for growth and bonding! The girls (and staff) actually built impressive shelters and were having a lot of fun! It was the perfect activity until morning came. When our campers woke up, they were all covered in bites! My initial thought was "oh shit! They all got bed bugs!" I immediately called our health supervisor to come and check it out. It turns out the campers all got chiggers. I gave the campers one tarp and most of them chose to use it as a roof rather than on the ground. I'm sure our camp director has a great time explaining that to all of the parents. 

In my third year of camp (yes, I did come back for yet another summer) I was the camp's Activity Coordinator. I was originally offered Retail Coordinator (a less exciting and prestigious support staff position) but ended up getting my dream position of Activity Coordinator in the end. I was beyond excited for the opportunity and actually spend hours (unpaid) planning prior to camp. By the start of camp, I had a huge binder filled with activity suggestions for each weekly theme. Fun fact, planning programs is actually one of my favorite hobbies to this day! Being the Activity Coordinator is by far one of the most difficult and demanding jobs when it is done right, but I loved every minute of it! We ran some amazing activities that summer! Here is one of my favorite photos of summer 2017:

After my third summer of camp, I had graduated college and started my first teaching position as a middle school Special Education teacher. While I have some wild stories from my time teaching middle school, I'll save that for another post. I did love teaching middle school, but my heart was yearning for camp all school year and I could not wait for summer to begin again. Against the advice of my family (who yearned for me to "grow up" and stay home), I went back to camp for another summer. Camp made me feel complete and I felt like that was where I needed to be. During my fourth summer of camp, I was the Assistant Camp Director. By this point, I knew that I had made a mistake in my career path and I was interested in becoming a Camp Director but felt like it would never be a reality for me. I had found something that I was good at and that I enjoyed. Here's a picture from summer number four. I guess dress-up is a common theme:

A lot happened between my fourth and fifth summer working at camp (you guessed it: I came back again). I started a different job teaching elementary school special education so that I could teach in the same district as my fiance. I got engaged! I bought a house. Those were three very big things that all happened in a very short span of time. When I brought up the idea of returning to camp, my family thought I was crazy! I'm very thankful that I had a loving and supportive fiance (now husband) who allowed me to continue what I thought would be my last camp experience. I should probably mention that camp is halfway across the state and is at least a four-hour drive from where I lived at the time. 

When it was almost time for the camp season to begin, my amazing Camp Director sent me a message saying that she quit and took on a different position in our Girl Scout council. Now, you might think that this is where my opportunity to become a camp director began, but that was not the case. They had already hired a new camp director for the summer. At first, I was a little disappointed that they never thought to ask me if I was interested, but with me being a full-time teacher, living halfway across the state, and not having ever expressed interest in the job, it made sense as to why it was never brought up. 

It turns out that the director they hired had a bit of a difficult summer. They had extreme anxiety and most of the staff quit before the summer actually began. This put me in the position of directing the camp for the majority of the summer while my director tried to cope with their new position of authority. I mean no disrespect to the director that was hired. They are a lovely person who I still communicate with today. They were just not cut out for (nor did they actually want) the job. 

This river helped me stay calm and collected during the crazy summer of 2019

At the end of the summer, the new director informs me that she is quitting. I nonchalantly let her know that I would be interested in the position when it becomes available and pretty soon, I had a job offer that matched my teaching salary for a camp director position. What seems like an easy decision was actually quite complex. I knew that my dream job was to become a camp director, but I already had a teaching job that I loved, had bought a house, and lived four hours away. My fiance was also well established where we lived and we would be getting married in JUNE of 2020. I asked for time to give provide an answer. Thankfully, I would have plenty of time to think since I was going on vacation with my fiance right after camp (I sort of ruined our vacation with my nonstop anxiety over what to do). 

Eventually, I (really my husband and I) came to a decision. I would accept the position only if they allowed me to continue my teaching job until the end of December to allow my school time to find a replacement. I would start part-time in September and work remotely until summer 2020 or until I could find a house in the area. With everything agreed upon, we listed our house and moved across the state leaving behind our jobs and friends.  It was a bit more complex than that, but I could write an entire book about the experience. Definitely was not expecting my first summer to be during a pandemic! 

I will never be able to thank my husband enough for the sacrifices that he made to allow me to live my dream. It means more than he will ever know. I just finished up my second successful summer and I'm ready to see whatever the future brings! 

Here's a picture of me on my delayed wedding day with some of my best friends (from camp) right by my side. Spoiler alert: we ended up not getting married in June due to covid-19. 

If you read this far, thanks for reading my story! I hope you will enjoy more of my posts coming soon! 

"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life"

-Confucious

Welcome to My Crazy Life as a Camp Director

I'm hoping that this blog will be a place to share everything related to camp! I love my job and want to share my stories (some humorous and some not) with anyone who is interested in listening. I'd love to share some tips and tricks that I've learned and maybe even learn a few new things along the way. If there is one thing that I've learned as a Camp Director, it's that there is ALWAYS room for improvement! 

Just for giggles, here is a favorite pic from the summer of 2020. 

Camp is an amazing place with amazing opportunities! If you're a camp director or just interested in knowing what camp is all about, I would love to hear from you. 

"The fire is the main comfort of camp, whether summer or winter."

-Henry David Thoreau