by Jess Dicken, Lake Stockwell Day Camp
This is my third summer on staff at Lake Stockwell day camp. For the past two summers I have been a Group Leader for the Cherokee tribe, one of our first grade groups. This year I am in a new leadership position as a Program Activity Supervisor. I wish that before I had joined the Lake Stockwell staff, someone would have told me a few things.
The first thing that I wish I had known, is that when you join the Stockwell staff you are joining a family. From the moment I stepped onto the land sports field for the first time during leadership staff training, I immediately felt a connection to my peers. Everyone took the time to get to know me and make me feel included in an environment that, at first, felt extremely foreign to me. I had never been a part of an authentic camp like Stockwell as a child.
Because of Stockwell, I have met some of my best friends. They are people who I can always count on, both during the summer and in the off seasons. They are the people who go above and beyond to make me feel encouraged and wanted.
I wish that someone had told me the influence you were able to have on other’s lives. The number of campers I have seen after my first year who still recognize me is amazing. At Stockwell, as a staff member, you kind of live in a fishbowl, where campers are looking up to you even when you’re not paying attention. The conversations I’ve had with campers’ parents about the difference I have made in their children’s experience has been heart-warming.
I wish someone had told me about Stockwell sooner. Because of Stockwell, I have grown not only as a staff member but as a leader, a friend and a person. I wish everyone could experience the Stockwell family.