Camp is a place for people to ‘try on’ different personalities and leadership styles. We want to teach young men and women that they can indeed be leaders. And we want to teach those people who are natural leaders how they can positively utilize their gifts for good…We want them to experiment with their own leadership styles, experience success in leading, and realize there will be some failures as leaders too.
Jeff Cheley, Owner and Director of Cheley Colorado Camps
Campers, whether they are A Thousand Summers campership recipients or not, have many opportunities to develop leadership skills through the activities they participate in and the experiences they have at camp. For the oldest campers, some have the chance to serve in official leadership and decision-making roles in their camp groups. They could be a JC (Junior Counselor), a CILT (Camper in Leadership Training), or an AC (Assistant Counselor), depending on which camp they attend, but in all cases they continue to hone their leadership skills and also give back to the camp community by serving as role models and mentors to younger campers.
These junior camp leaders truly embody the spirit of camp and can share the traditions of camp and model the culture of camp in a way that younger campers relate to and want to emulate. As they help lead activities and make decisions for camp groups in conjunction with staff members, these young leaders learn how to transition from being a camper (a consumer of the camp experience) to being a counselor (a creator of the experience for others).
Many thanks to Ariella Rogge, the Director of Sanborn Western Camps, who shared that description of the progression from consumer of the camp experience to creator of the camp experience for others. We love that explanation!
This coming summer, several ATS campers will be working through that transition from “consumer to creator” as campers in leadership positions at our associate camps.
In those roles, our campers will share the camping, outdoor, and leadership skills that they’ve acquired over their years at camp. The leadership programs may also include a service component where they will lead other campers in a service project on camp property, for the National Park or the National Forest, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, or other environmental causes near the camp.
Our young leaders will learn responsibility, time management, independence, collaboration, and teamwork, as well as problem solving, communication, and conflict resolution strategies. In their unique position and with their close connection to the younger campers, they will play an integral role in building community and supporting youth development while simultaneously developing critical skills for their own future academic or professional pursuits.
Many campers in leadership training positions become counselors at their various camps a couple of years down the road, once they are eligible to apply. Former junior counselors make great new camp staff hires as they are very familiar with the camp experience, values, and culture and have already received some training. Their past experience at camp uniquely prepares them to be effective staff members.
Successful Junior Counselors are often successful staff members because they have a desire to put the needs of others ahead of their own, they know how to support the community as a whole, they demonstrate fortitude and perseverance in the outdoors, and they understand some of the challenges that come from working with large, diverse groups of campers. These skills are incredibly transferable and are often reflected back on college admissions essays as well as in their own desire to return to be on staff, not because they ‘just want to be with my friends’ but because ‘I want to give back to the place which provided me with so much.’
Ariella Rogge, Director of Sanborn Western Camps
At A Thousand Summers, we are very aware that once our campers complete their Junior Counselor or Camper in Leadership Training experience, they have “aged out.” Historically, there has been a year gap between when that “age out” happens and when our Campership alumni are eligible to apply to be staff members.
We have recently implemented a new program to help fill that gap.
This summer is the inaugural year of our Outdoor Leadership Program for former ATS campership recipients ages 17-19. Our goal is to have 8-12 participants enroll. Those who are accepted into the program will embark on a 2-week awe-inspiring backpacking and river travel immersive wilderness trip in Colorado and Utah, led by the reputable outdoor adventure company, Open Roads. Participants will focus on leadership, team building, environmental education, service learning, and acquiring wilderness tripping certifications. All of these skills prepare participants to be effective camp counselors should they choose to apply to our Camp Fellowship Program the following year or seek other employment in the outdoor industry.
The Camp Fellowship Program started in the summer of 2023. It is a leadership and career development program designed for our alumni campers, centered on employment at summer camp. Our Camp Fellows are official staff members/counselors of the camps they attended and they go through the same staff training and have the same responsibilities as all other staff members, but they receive additional mentoring, training, and financial support from ATS. We had four Camp Fellows in 2023 and aim to have eight in 2024.
We already serve our ATS kids for their lifespan as a camper (ages 10 to 16 or 17), but now we have opportunities in place to expand and enhance what we can offer, serving them for their lifespan of camp and beyond! As a result, they can continue to explore their passion for camp and outdoor leadership while receiving excellent training and experience that uniquely prepares them to be camp staff members or to pursue other outdoor professional endeavors. Regardless of what field they may choose, they will have developed critical skills that will set them up for success.
We are excited about our campers in leadership positions this summer as we know that it is just a first step in their pathway to leadership. We are also very proud of our new program offerings and hope you will take some time to learn more about them by visiting our Programs page.
We are grateful every day to be able to work with the wonderful kids we serve, the great camps with whom we partner, and the generous donors who support us. By working together, we are developing compassionate, dedicated, young leaders who want to make a difference in the world and who have what it takes to create change.
