First Class Counselors

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Get your campers from A to B in style!

Welcome to episode 8 of First Class Counsellors!

In our quest to give Counsellors the skills they need to be all-stars, we bring you one show entirely dedicated to transitions. Seriously, 45 minutes on making sure campers are where they need to be at point A, getting them to point B and what to do if you have trouble getting to point B.

It’s one of those parts of camp that you can do poorly, easily, or well, fairly easily, you just need some ideas and inspiration to NOT BE BORING!

To help you not be a boring transitioner, Oliver and Matt touch on:

Creative ways to make sure all your campers are in one place

Games and techniques for getting your campers from point A to point B

The importance of knowing and working with the camp schedule

What to do when transitions aren’t as fresh and clean as you’d hope

Matt’s tangent and rant on why you need to be a good co-worker this summer (how’s he get there? Even he doesn’t know!)

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at [email protected]

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Go on to your camp’s social media, website and google location and like, review and comment on something positive. It helps their scores and helps get more campers to camp. Positive ratings online really do help in the algorithms of the internet.

Matt: Interview prep!

Predict some interview questions and prepare answers:

Where will you need the most help in the job where you’re applying

Tell me about something you’re proud of

Why do you want to work at camp?

You better say something about the kids.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast it’s for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Welcome to episode 7 of First Class Counsellors!

This episode is dedicated to all you humble counsellors out there. To the ones who put their heads down and work without asking for anything in return. You don’t want the credit, a camper’s smile is enough.

It’s dedicated to you, because you suck at selling yourself.

Okay. That was harsh but for a lot of young camp staff, we’re not THAT wrong.

Whether your are looking for an off-season job or looking to move on after your time at camp, it’s critical that you understand how to communicate the true value of your experiences at camp to a potential employer. If the employer or recruiter is like millions of adults who never worked at camp, they might look at “Camp xyz” on your resume and they WON’T GET IT.

They won’t know about the long nights looking after a camper who is missing home, being able to improvise a last-minute rain plan, caring for the physical, mental and emotional needs of multiple kids for weeks at a time and the 10,000 other things you do in the summer that makes this the hardest (and best) jobs in the world.

This episode is for you to be able to (metaphorically) reach across the interview table and give the interviewer a (metaphorical) shake and (metaphorically) say to them, “I CHANGE LIVES, EVERY. DAMN. DAY.”

Our hosts Matt and Oliver are joined by the fantastic Kim Aycock to help give you the tools to use camp to rock your next interview. Kim has worked extremely hard with her team and the American Camp Association on Project Real Job, who’s entire goal is to assist with communicating the career-enhancing benefits of working at camp to prospective employees and their parents as well as employers.

We’re so grateful to have Kim join us. Tune in to hear more about:

Kim’s camp origin story

Her involvement with Project Real Job and some of their significant findings

How you can overcome some of the common stereotypes of a camp counsellor

Advice on how to take your camp experience and translate that to your resume and into the interview room

What counsellors can do to start building their resume for next summer at camp.

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at [email protected]

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: I jokingly told many of my co-workers that it is reading season because it is a bit calmer now at camp and I can spend time reading. So I ordered a bunch of books and have been reading up on all the camp things I can.

Matt: Work on your “why” with a camp friend, then share it with someone who you’ve never talked to about camp before

Kim:
For veteran staff: Reflect on the recent summer and jot down your stories...what was challenging, what you rocked, what you learned, how you grew. Then, think about where you want to go, what you want to work on, and the new things you want to try. Also think about what you are learning now or developing that could help you in the role you aspire to have at camp.

For new staff: bring a notebook and pen so that you can capture all the cool stuff you learn and practice while at camp!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Directo

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Because bedtime is still program time.

Welcome to episode 6 of First Class Counsellors!

We’re back with more First Class Counsellors! We’re borrowing some rent from the CampHacker Podcast for the start of this season, but we’ll be in our own space soon, so hang tight!

This is a Podcast by young Camp Pros for even younger Camp Pros. Camp Directors, these podcasts are meant for you to train your staff on the little things; the bits of common knowledge that you don’t have time to stuff into staff training, but wish you could.

This season, we are going to really focus in on tangible skills for camp counsellors. Transition times, making meals special, leading games, etc. Our goal is to take the best counselling tips that camp directors and leaders have gathered in their careers and give them away to camp counsellors, for free.

To start off this season, our hosts Matt Honsberger and Oliver Gregan discuss all things bedtime. New camp counsellors may have never had the experience of trying to get a kid to go to bed. Even if they have babysitting with one or two kids, counsellors are 100% in charge of getting 6-10 kids ready for, and in bed, happily, and on time.

It’s. Not. Easy. Let’s get learning!

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As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at [email protected]

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Go offline for two whole days. No screens. Make sure its during normal life too, not on a weekend when you are going on a camping trip anyways. Try to see what it feels like when your campers do it. Journal about it for the three days, one for the day you have your phone back.

Matt: Work on your bedtime routine. Figure out what works for you and how you can apply it to camp next summer

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, 

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Easy ways to practice mental health and self care as a staff member at summer camp.

Welcome to episode 5 of First Class Counsellors!

Camp Directors, this may be our best episode yet. If you’ve been waiting to send one to your staff, this is it.

Here’s why:

We are talking about PRACTICAL, EASY ways for your staff to stay mentally healthy this summer.

Dr. Deborah Gilboa (Dr. G) is our guest. If you don’t know her, Dr. G is a youth development and parenting expert who ALSO happens to be a long-time camper and camp staff member. Needless to say, she is AWESOME at what she does both in her practice and overall for the summer camp industry.

Okay, a bit more. On the fifth episode of First Class Counsellors, Oliver and Matt are joined by the ONE the ONLY, Dr. G to share some ways to help camp staff stay mentally healthy this summer. Dr. G, Matt and Oliver talk about not only why a place as great as camp can sometimes be a place of stress and anxiety, but what all camp staff can do to be resilient and re-focus on having the best summer of their lives.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about:

From a practical and clinical side, why is it important that camp staff be aware and take care of their mental health this summer while at camp?

When it comes to taking breaks DURING a camp session (an hour, or couple hours off, or a night if you’re a day camp staff), what are some great ways to effectively re-charge?

How about when it comes to taking breaks BETWEEN camp sessions, (weekends, change-overs, etc)?

What are some of the things that prevent us from being our mentally healthiest at camp? What are some ways to overcome those challenges?

Any last strategies, tools or things to keep in mind when it comes to being your mentally best at camp?

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As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at [email protected]

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BONUS NOTES - Because Dr. G is AMAZING.

Check out Dr. G’s “Prescription for Preventing Stressed out Staff. Camp staff, talk to your directors about this and send them these links to check it out.

Watch the video here

Find out more here

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Video tape yourself singing a camp song, have some friends help if its repeat after me. Send it to your camp director with the message “I am excited for camp.” Or even do a challenge 3 friends thing on social media. Send them to me too, I want to learn some new songs before summer.

Matt: Plan your own session and show your passions to the campers this summer! Feel free to use the session template that we use at Pearce Williams. - Download the template here

Dr. G: Think about how you are going to do on a “camp amount” of tech use in the summer. Turn on the functions on your device that tell you how much you’ve u

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Welcome to episode 4 of First Class Counsellors!

We’d like to think that you know First Class Counsellors by now. You know that this is a Podcast by young Camp Pros for even younger Camp Pros. Camp Directors, you know that these podcasts are meant for you to train your staff on the little things; the bits of common knowledge that you don’t have time to stuff into staff training, but wish you could.

If you don’t know us and we’re just navel-gazing here, then HEY! You can find our first episode and more about why we’re on the CampHacker feed here.

On the fourth episode of First Class Counsellors, Oliver and Matt are joined by Phoebe Jones from Camp Ten Oaks to talk all about Campships, or Relationships at camp. Phoebe, Matt and Oliver unpack the good, the bad, the policies and the just good ol’ friendly side of relationships at camp. This episode is for all staff, including those who are in a camp relationship, single and thinking about a camp crush right now, or simply want to make platonic, friends with their co-workers and campers this summer.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about:

What are some policies from around the camp world surrounding staff romantic relationships?

What to say to campers when they ask about staff relationships in and out of camp

What are some things to think about when campers are interested in romantic relationships with each other? What do you do if they act on those interests?

Does any of this change when it comes to LGTBQ+ staff/campers?

How to stay out of the DRAMA that can sometimes surround relationships at camp?

If you’re not interested in a romantic relationship at camp, what can you do to create friendships with your fellow counsellors?

How can you build appropriate yet fun friendships with campers that still respects the boundaries that need to be in place.

And as we say off the top of this episode. No matter what we say…ahem…

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FOLLOW YOUR STAFF POLICIES!

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As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at [email protected]

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Get a collapsable laundry hamper to keep organized when you’re out and around camp. Kids can put their things in it at a program areas and it creates a hub for campers to gather at. Seriously Oliver, this one is GENIUS!

Matt: From your director: Please Please PLEASE get your paperwork in. You have no idea how helpful it is to not have to dog you for it.

Phoebe: Go out and get a shoe organizer for the door or for your bunk and use it to organize campers things, especially toiletries! SO SMART!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Phoebe Jones - Staff at Camp Ten Oaks

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Supervising for the first time at camp? This one’s for you!

Welcome to episode 3 of First Class Counsellors! If you’re new to First Class Counsellors, and wondering why it’s in your CampHacker feed, welcome! We’re trying this mini-series out this Spring and mixing it in with your usual CampHacker goodness. You can find our first episode and more about why we’re on the CampHacker feed here.

On our third episode, we are joined by Grace Tierney from YMCA Camp Mason to give your new senior staff some practical tips for how to lead effectively and gracefully this summer. Oliver, Matt and Grace share their stories of stepping up into leadership roles for the first time and some of the practical tips that they picked up along the way.

In this episode, we cover:

What a first foray into supervising can look like

How staff can work to achieve a supervising role that they are interested in

What first time supervisors should start thinking about as soon as they are hired

Some practical advice for someone who is going to be supervising for the first time

How camp is going to change for you as you move forward in leadership positions.

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear that. Please let us know by emailing Matt at [email protected]

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Read story books and books about how to tell stories to help capture both kids and staff’s attention.

Matt: Start writing your transition report, meet the last person who did your job and get some initial brainstorming on the go NOW!

Grace: Keep listening and reading and being inspired by camp related material. If you’re reading and listening to this, you’re on the right track!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Grace Tierney, Day Camp Program Director at YMCA Camp Mason

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

If this is your first time seeing First Class Counsellors in your CampHacker feed, welcome! You can find our first episode here.

On our second episode, we are joined by Isabelle “Zukes” Paradis to discuss how we can best serve our Generation Z staff and campers. Oliver, Matt and Isabelle cover a ton of practical, ready-to-implement ideas that camp counsellors can use to benefit this exciting generation of campers and camp staff.

In this short, episode, we cover

How to capture and retain campers with short attention spans when explaining things at camp

What you can do when campers and staff are open to sharing about their mental health

3 ways to give campers and staff the face-to-face connection that Gen Z craves

Easy ways to help our campers and staff begin to take on independence and take healthy risks

Embracing Gen Z’s entrepreneurial spirit and giving them autonomy over their camp experience

As usual, what we’re getting at here is fast, furious, and it’s incredibly useful for your counselling staff

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Call a friend who has no connection to camp. Talk to them about what working at camp is really like. Share your ideas, share your stories so they can really understand something this important in your life.

Matt & Isabelle (It’s like they work together!): Buy yourself GOOD camp gear. A GOOD raincoat (not a poncho), a GOOD headlamp (almost any headlamp with good reviews on amazon), a GOOD pair of sandals (Matt’s go to’s are Chacos) and a GOOD water bottle (something that will last and where the mouthpiece won’t get dirty) and a GOOD waterproof watch.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Isabelle Paradis, Counsellor & Programmer at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger - Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt and email! Thank you!

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Wait…isn’t this the CampHacker Podcast? Yes!, well, no!

This is a preview of something new to come on the CampHacker and Go Camp Pro podcast network.

This is free professional development for your Counsellors.

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips on how to be a better counsellor.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger - Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

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On our first episode, we’re joined by Jessica Tenhor from Pearce Williams and Rachel Quinn to talk about planning the perfect camp program or session.

In this short, 40 minute episode we cover:

4 magical program (steal away!)

4 programs that take next to no set-up (seriously, your counsellors can use these this summer?)

4 Pro Planning Tips

The inside scoop on what your Director wants from you, as a programmer

4 ways that a counsellor can get ready for the summer NOW.

It’s fast, it’s furious, and we hope that it’s incredibly useful for your counselling staff.

We would love to hear who is passing this on to your staff. Please let us know in the comments below!

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW

Oliver: Seek out local speakers and resources to get inspired

Matt: www.ultimatecampresource.com

Jessica: Bin of Possibilities - quick games, raccoon circle, colouring, small ball, books, bracelet string, etc. that you can pull out during cabin time or rest hour.

Rachel: Keep in contact with people who want to camp with you after the summer is over, and reflect on the summer together. The distance is good for perspective.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell
Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp and Retreat Facility

Jessica Tenhor, Alumni of Pearce Williams Summer Camp and Retreat Facility

Rachel , Leadership Staff of YMCA Camp Bernie