Spring is just around the corner and summer will be here before you know it, which makes now the time to start thinking about how you’re going to spend your summer. If you’re a college student, you could toil away as a server or cook at the local pizza joint or operate rides or peddle souvenirs at the local amusement or sports park. Interning in a local office may even be an option you’re considering. But if you want summer employment that promises a summer full of fun and adventure while also helping you develop valuable lifelong skills that employers view favorably, consider working at Camp Starlight. Just because your college days are behind you doesn’t mean that there isn’t a role at summer camp for you too, particularly if you are a teacher or high school or college athletics coach looking for a fun way to earn some extra money over the summer. In fact, the ages and backgrounds of the people who make up the typical summer camp staff are about as diverse as summer camps themselves.
If you don’t think being a counselor is really your thing or your pretty sure you’ve aged out of that option, don’t sweat it. 
There are a multitude of positions besides counselors that we must fill each summer. For starters, our office requires personnel to run it. If answering the phone and administrative tasks are more to your liking, perhaps working in the Camp Starlight office might be the ideal option for you. Additionally, we need people to help with daily scheduling as well as planning and executing special activities during the evenings and on special days.
If you like the idea of spending time with children and are an athlete or hobbyist who would rather focus on your passion, we hire specialists to teach skills in specific sports and hobbies to campers. If your passion is photography or videography, as the camp photographer responsible for capturing the fun every day, your role is one of the most integral at camp. In fact, if you can think of an activity, there is probably a staffing need for it at camp, and sometimes some of the hardest positions to fill are ones most people just don’t think of when they think of summer camp, such as creative writing, cooking, robotix, eco science, animation, media, or magic.
Most hospitality positions such as kitchen, maintenance, and housekeeping are usually filled with international applicants. If you are an international student who would love to earn some money by working in the U.S. before or after traveling, one of these summer camp roles may be the perfect option for you…as well as a lot of fun and a chance to make a lot of new friends from around the world!
If you’re a more mature individual with more education and/or work history, camps also have a need to fill key roles that
require more foundational knowledge and experience. Aside from counselors, Camp Starlight also employs division leaders, people who lead a specific age group and supervise all of the counselors within that group. Although we usually fill all or most division leader roles with individuals who have several years of successful camp experience because these types of roles require a more intricate knowledge of summer camp, occasionally we will search outside of camp, typically for teachers or other professionals who work with children. In addition to division leaders, we also hire program or activity heads. These are typically college coaches and current or former professionals in their area of expertise, such as soccer, baseball, basketball, gymnastics, etc. However, since almost all activities require people to run them, those with interest and expertise in hobbies or arts related programs can often find a summer home at camp as well in areas such as arts and crafts, dance, theater, etc. Those who manage offices, act as campus administrators, or arrange transportation are typically individuals with some type of related work experience. Most camps also employ camp moms or parent liaisons during the summer. These are individuals, often mothers themselves, who monitor the well being of younger campers to insure they are eating properly, staying well groomed, and having a fantastic summer.
So if you’re thinking of trying something new this summer, fill out an employment application to see if Camp Starlight might be the right summer home for you!
For another “Get to know…”, a couple of our Deb girls interviewed Upper Debs Division Leader Kim Schwartz. Here’s the word from Kim:
