The fun of being a Rockbrook counselor, playing with the kids, being outside, dressing up, laughing a lot (and I mean a LOT!), and just having a great time in your summer job.
Take a look at this video (7:21) and see what it’s all about!
Transcript – Camp Staff Video
The Heart of a Rockbrook Counselor
The camp counselor is this unbelievably unique combination of best friend, big sister, cool parent, cool aunt, teacher, cheerleader, coach, everything rolled into one, and I don’t think there’s a place or a job that’s like it.
Rockbrook is amazing. I mean, just being here, I feel like I have changed so much as a person and grown.
I think Rockbrook has a very genuine sense of community. You are a Rockbrook girl even if you’ve only been here for a day, or if you stay here all summer.
Rockbrook is a one of a kind camp. You can’t come into this job, can’t come into this community, and leave the same person. I think it makes you just see the world with the brighter set of eyes.
How to be an Ideal Rockbrook Counselor
An ideal Rockbrook counselor needs a lot of energy, and a lot of enthusiasm. Energy and enthusiasm have every effect on the kids because that makes them enjoy what they are doing. If the counselor is having an awesome time and if the counselor is having fun then the kids will have fun. It is a 24×7 job.
You are here every single day and you never stop doing your job. Even when I am asleep I could get woken up by a camper. We do a ton of really, really crazy activities at Rockbrook. It’s all about the costumes. The kids do skits every night and they wear the craziest costumes. Some of the other activities we do are shaving cream fights. We have banquet which is a big themed dinner at the end of the session. We had a wet and wild carnival recently.
It’s an incredibly rewarding job to be a camp counselor but there are a lot of challenges along the way – it’s messy, nothing is ever like in a perfect little box. You don’t know what you are going to see everyday. It’s not for girls who like to shower daily and smell like roses, and have their pedicures and manicures. Closest thing to a pedicure you will get is a bottle of nail polish and a six-year-old.
Someone who is glass half empty might have a hard time dealing with all the challenges of the job and in that vein, someone with a good sense of humor about themselves and about messy situations, you have to be sensitive and deal with issues appropriately, but also at the end of the day, be able to laugh about the messy stuff.
If you are energetic and enthusiastic and caring and who is open to trying new things, no matter if you are brand new at Rockbrook, if you have those qualities then you can be a great counselor.
Once you get hired at camp, you start your training immediately. You get signed up for a course online. You begin learning and reading about your job before you even set foot on camp. Then you get to camp and we have a week long, pretty intensive training. We go over everything such as epiPen certifications, emergency situations so you’re totally prepared. We touch base on anything from safety to human relations. How to handle bed wetting, homesickness, how do you successfully help your girls navigate socially throughout their day.
How to Join the Rockbrook Camp Family
And one of the big things I say to the counselors is, if you can handle a group of nine year olds on a rainy day, keep them engaged, keep them safe, keep them happy, then you can handle just about anything. I think the job really does get counselors ready for the “real world”, the business world, because you learn tons of interpersonal skills, you learn a lot of patience, responsibility and time management is key and crucial to your job, and you learn a lot about yourself.
Camp is a place where you can really examine yourself in another setting than the one that you’re usually in, so being away from your usual friends and your usual home and being away from technology, it kind of helps you to discover who you really are.
It’s one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. It kind of reminds you what you are doing with your life really. Just being positive looking out for others, being thoughtful, being present. That’s some really good lessons I’ve learned from Rockbrook.
It’s hard to describe exactly how rewarding it is, but just getting to know these campers and learning about them and watching them have a happy, healthy camp experience is probably the best reward.
I’ve grown so much as a person. Everyone I’ve talked to as a counselor grows up so much. You will laugh, you will get to love these campers, you will love this camp and everyone you work with. I mean it won’t be like anything you’ve ever done before.
It’s not just being a camp counselor. It’s helping girls develop skills, self-esteem, confidence, and helping them be happy and free, especially in the kind of world we live in today where there is a lot of pressure on all of us to feel like we have to be a certain way. You can help girls come to a place where they can be who they want to be.
I think if anyone wants to make their summer better and feel fulfilled, and just become a better person, they should come here.
When you leave Rockbrook, your life totally changes. You realize that it’s not about you anymore, but it’s about being part of something bigger than yourself, and you will notice things in life that a thousand times you would pass by and you wouldn’t blink at but at Rockbrook, it’s almost like your life becomes a little bit more beautiful, and the world becomes a little bit more beautiful because your campers helped open your eyes to all kinds of wonderful things in the world.
