In today’s society of college students there is an underlying pressure to get the coveted internship or summer job to boost your career. According to dictionary.com, an internship is defined as “any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession.” The experiences our staff endure and take away from working at camp are limitless, but the idea of a camp internship can easily translate to many fields in the workplace.

Connor Lange, a recent graduate of Iowa State University completed an Exercise Science internship while working at camp as a Fitness Specialist. Lange shared what he learned from his experience, “I learned how to effectively manage my time, coordinate events for a variety of age groups, communicate with both facility and the kids, work as a strong team, and manage my work life and personal life in an effective way.”
While working at camp is indefinitely a fun experience, being able to take away real skills and knowledge for future careers is a translatable yet rewarding experience. There are thousands of options of companies; an organization to intern with, but camp does offer something special. Lange went on to mention, “I would recommend Camp Starlight over a traditional internship because I learned more about the aspects and skills needed to be successful in my work field. Also, during my summer at camp, I learned more about myself than I ever thought I would. I learned more about myself this summer than I did in my four years at college.”

Austin Nelson, a Senior at Ohio Northern University studying Business Management recently completed his internship working as apart of our Programming and Operations Department. Nelson eventually would like to work in the sports industry and shared his experience about this past summer, “Coming from a non-camp background, it was interesting to see how Starlight operates and runs as effectively as it does. I learned how to meet deadlines effectively, work with all different kinds of people, and balance the idea of work and play at camp.”

Another huge benefit of working at camp is the ability to have so many co-workers and learn from all different personalities. With staff coming from all over the world, the culture and diversity at camp is unlike any other. “I cannot think of any internship or even study abroad program that offers the same level of diversity that a summer camp does. I learned so much about other cultures. I would not have learned this in a typical internship position,” Nelson added. Rather than being a typical intern, our summer staff are growing, learning, and enjoying the summer as the best two months of their lives.

“The camp atmosphere is truly evident because of how passionate all the staff members are about making the summer the best summer of their entire life for not only the kids but for everyone else in the camp, said Lange.”

While some may not think of camp as a place to intern, Starlight offers internships for all majors and works with many colleges and universities to create distinguished, one of a kind internships for our staff. Even with the stress of getting that sought-after internship, sometimes the simplest things like camp can provide the most gratifying experiences.