I’m in the process of hiring our new international staff for the summer. It looks like there will only be 2 new guys at Ocky this summer, since many of last year’s int’s are coming back. When I talk to them through skype, I try to paint a picture with words for them about what Camp life is like. I think that is only fair, since they will be leaving everything and everyone they are most familiar with for 3 months or so to be at Camp and I wouldn’t want them to travel this far and not have it be what they expected.
Once they start arriving in May and June with other staff that may be here for the first time, I have to remind myself what it is like not knowing your way around Camp or quite how things work here. I have to do the same thing once the campers arrive. I’ve walked a mile in their shoes, but that was a very long time ago! Many of us now know how to get to any place on Camp and may know the words to all of the Camp songs, but it wasn’t always like that. Do you remember your first time to Camp? I recall going to Archery (when it used to be across the road from Family Swim Center before there were volleyball courts there. I remember going to the Initiatives Course (that’s what the Challenge Course used to be called). I remember hiking the Tatem Trail and “leaving only my footprints behind” and “discovering” Lost Lake and paddling to Crystal Clear to look for turtles. What I try to remind myself now is that once my counselor got us out to these places, I had no idea which direction to take to get back! Do I go left or right to get back to the Dining Hall? Which way is it to our cabins? I remember humming some of the verses to different Camp songs because I hadn’t been able to memorize all of the words yet (Titanic probably took me 2 or 3 years!). I was so proud of myself once I learned the lay of the land and all of these traditions and songs. It really made me feel like a part of the community.
My point is this: when you come to Camp this summer as a camper, staff member, or as an alumni, look for an opportunity to share your Camp experience and knowledge. Try to remember what it was like to be the new kid at Camp. We were all there at one time. Look for the new person who hasn’t yet had the chance to learn all of these things and help them out. You’ll not only be welcoming in a new person to our beautiful Camp community, you may even make a new friend! Who taught you the ropes when you first came to this Camp we love?
Brent Birchler
Boys Camp Director