Written by Alexa Cazenave and Lincoln Baptiste
Volunteering at camp is an incredibly rewarding experience. The camp consists of activities held all throughout the Montverde Academy campus. Each week has a variety of fun themes, such as water fun, creation craze, and superheroes. The camp is made up of kids ages 4 to 12, and they are divided appropriately by age. Each group has two counselors and the necessary amount of counselors-in-training (CITs).
All groups, with their counselors, alternate between art, swim, student-centered games, gym games, scooters and bikes, and fishing. The younger groups also have a naptime period. Each period of activities is an hour long, and camp management and counselors make sure every activity is safe and fun. These activities teach counselors and CITs important skills of leadership and safety. Camp activities end at 3:30 and at 4:00. This is the end of the day for some counselors, but specific counselors stay to supervise the kids during aftercare.
Every year before camp starts, Montverde Academy Upper School students are able to sign up to volunteer as counselors, and this year even middle school students were able to apply to become a CIT. Being a counselor or a CIT is a beneficial experience. Through the course of each camp week, counselors and CITs learn many character-building skills, such as leadership, cooperation, perseverance, and compassion. Chris Wathington, a CIT at the summer camp, states, “Being a camp counselor is rewarding in itself because you get to watch these kids grow up and have fun.”
Having a job is a critical part of life, and for many working at the Montverde Academy summer camp, this is their first. Demari Shirley states, “Honestly, getting up early, taking care of the kids, and managing their activity time really gave me a sense of accomplishment and discipline.”
After speaking to the counselors and CITs, you can tell that there is a sense of community and a bond between them.
