What?
In the summer of 2021, I went to a beautiful camp in the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. That summer I bloomed the second I stepped foot on the camps peninsula on Brant Lake. During my first week there I was trained in CPR, RTE, and Lifeguarding. And through that week, all the directors saw how great of a leader I was. Within the first week of being there, they trusted me and promoted me to director of Wilderness Adventure and Discovery. This was huge! I felt lots of pressure, but I knew I could do it. This was a difficult role to take on considering the camp was still dealing with Covid regulations and management problems. But I persevered.
So What?
Having this position thrown at me made me have to act quickly. I had to learn the position to the best of my ability, program plan, understand the rules of the camp, the legalities of what I could and couldn’t do, and work around Covid. I had to step up to the plate and show that I was capable of my duties. I had meetings all the time to make sure things were going smoothly. On top of being director, I also had to lifeguard after my morning shift was over. I was busy. This job taught me how to better manage my time and learn how to better run a program.
Now What?
I plan to go back to camp this summer. I have many ideas on how to make the program even better, and the owner/director agrees. I’m excited to make the summer fun not only for the kids but for me and my staff. I’m glad I get to being more leadership knowledge and skills to the camp. I want to make sure things not only go smoothly on my side of the camp but also on others. Seeing how last summer and the past few months have been in terms of communication, I want to help and see improvement. Leadership is vital at any level and any age. I hope to also help some of the campers who hold leadership positions at the camp, become better leaders.
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