What I wish I knew before going to camp | Camp America | Tips for new counsellors!

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Last summer I went to camp for the first time as a general counsellor. Here's what I wish I knew before I had gone. Packing and general tips for first-time counsellors.
(this video was not created by/in collaboration with Camp America, this is simply my own personal advice)
Timestamps:
00:00-1:20 - introduction
1:20-9:45 - packing tips (what (not) to bring)
9:45-18:50 - miscellaneous (travel and camp culture)
Hope you found this helpful and feel free to ask more questions!
Music:
Feeling fine
Music by Dylan Rockoff - Feeling Fine - thmatc.co/?l=2BD75D64
Insta - lilsjmerrick

Опубликовано:

9 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 69

@sarah.93.30 Год назад

Just a few notes, I went to camp in 2017; 1. Some camps won't allow staff to wear bikinis, check with your camp first!. 2. Don't bring anything (clothes) that you would be upset if they don't return in the same condition as you brought them in. 3. Go to Primark and buy all of the socks!! You will loose 99% of them. 4. Bring jumpers & sweatpants, it gets bloody cold at night. The breeze coming off the lake is freezing. 5. Some camps won't allow flip-flops, check with your camp! 6. Portable chargers are your bestie! 7. Would recommend the spray on sunscreen, easier to apply and less messy. 8. Contact your camp and find out your camp colours (usually 2) and bring shorts & tshirts in those colours (for colour war!). 9. Camp is a less dramatic love island, what happens in camp stays at camp! 10. Camp is a job, you are being employed to be there, keep this in mine if you get tired or frustrated with the kids. You are there to help the kids have a great summer!. 11. Everyone gets homesick, it's totally normal. 12. You will have the best summer of your life!

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Yes yes yes!!! Agreed ❤

@YenellyT Год назад

This are great tips! But also don’t forget to ask for time for yourself if you get really overwhelmed! Being with 10 kids all day and night can be a lot. You also need to take care of yourself. And that comes first, in order to be a good version of yourself for the kids

@papaharrison 4 месяца назад

Hello 👋 I'm currently in China but how can I get to this summer camp?

@landryneufeld391 3 месяца назад

“If i didn’t care about seeing” lmao this is so real i will literally neglect my ability to see if it means i can wear cute sunglasses

@lilyjmerrick 3 месяца назад

!!! looking cute > ability to see

@SofiesSpectrum Год назад

I'm so excited to go for the first time! This was super helpful to settle my nerves x

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Oh I'm so glad!! I'm excited for you too, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time :)) x

@lisamdleleni122 3 месяца назад

You made me interested in going in this journey

@HannahWalshaw 5 месяцев назад

researching camp America at the moment before applying so thank u for this!

@lilyjmerrick 5 месяцев назад

Of course!! If you have any questions ever, I’d be happy to try and help ♥️

@HannahWalshaw 5 месяцев назад

@@lilyjmerrick hi, that would be great! I’m going to the camp America job fair on Saturday so I’m quite nervous about that haha 🤍

@EnchantedTooWell 11 месяцев назад

great video!!

@keegan882 Год назад

Your friend probably wasn't allowed to bring her apple into the US bc tsa is strict about plants as they could be invasive/could bring in non native pests.

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Ahhh I see, lol I’ll tell her thank you x

@keegan882 Год назад

@@lilyjmerrick ofc!

@Ofbenjii Год назад

Leaving exactly 2 weeks from now! Appreciate the video :)

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

wow exciting, have such a great time :)) ! xx

@stxrer 7 месяцев назад

how was it??

@ronja2528 Год назад

I’m applying right now but am so worried I’m to late and everything is full… but hopefully I will be able to go this year! This video was very useful for me to take notes for this or next year

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Good Luck! Let me know if you get placed, I have a lot of faith you will though! I'm so glad you found the video useful :)) x

@Lily-loopsy Год назад

Same! They said they’re not taking interviews atm in the Uk so I’m worried it’s too late 🥺 I’m also looking at ‘USA Summer camps’ and they’re still taking offers so there’s lots of options !!

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

I hope it works out! There are a lot of options, don't have to do it through Camp America by any means!

@Sofiapd2 9 месяцев назад

it's mainly don't bring any fruit or vegetable that is not allowed in the usa, can be an apple, an orange, there is a whole list you can't take to the usa.

@jogignac-davies6090 3 месяца назад

I’m 26, I’m going for the first time to be head counselor for female presenting staff, and a recording arts and music teacher. I’m very excited, also am finding it ironic that a lot of people travel to do this job, and I live in Maine and it’s only 40 minutes from where I live. I feel lucky I don’t have to worry about packing because that sounds like a headache. I’ll be able to go home on the “weekends” sometimes! I’m getting a private cabin and clearly, I’m over the moon.

@lilyjmerrick 3 месяца назад

That’s sounds so good! Yeah I know a lot of counsellors who live close to camp and it’s such a blessing to be able to go home quick on time off. I’m excited for you, you’re going to have such a great time! :))

@NoahKahan67 Год назад

Was placed on monday and Literally cant wait!

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

So excited for you!! x

@gracebarnes5907 Год назад

I’m exactly the same swimming in lakes is my fear bc I’m scared of snakes and water snakes and I feel like I would be left out so much but don’t know how to get over that x

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Exactly! It something I've told myself I'm going to get over this summer though - and my motto at the moment is, if the only thing stopping me is fear then I'm going to do it lol. Honestly, if you find a way to get over it then pls let me know, my theory is if I do it impulsively enough then I won't have time to be scared, like I'm gonna get out there on a paddle board with one of the girls and realistically we are gonna fall in, that's my tactic lmao x

@clevergirl6041 Год назад

@@lilyjmerrickt's difficult to get over something like this BECAUSE the way nature has been mistreated.... all the lakes & the rivers are so polluted these days!!😢 I have an interview Tuesday to work at a day camp so I've been perusing camp counselor videos all morning 😂

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

@@clevergirl6041 oh sick, good luck! If you have any questions or anything lmk I can try and help x and yeah, I’m such a hypochondriac too so I’ll just convince myself I got sick from lake water lol

@EnchantedTooWell 11 месяцев назад

what camp did you go to?

@_bohemian2778 Год назад

I applied a couple of days before but I did not get any response I don't know why, Could you please help me with this? I m from Spain but originally from Sri Lanka.

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

It will take a while, once you go through the whole application process on your camp America account then it may take a while, perhaps months but given the date now, it’ll probably be more like weeks :)

@cheii0175 Год назад

Wanted to note bikinis also double as extra underwear if the laundry is taking longer because... life happens. Haha

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

very true lol x

@dallasburch104 Год назад

I checked the prices for the campers at some of the camp America camps and just a warning the majority of those kids will be RICH rich

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

yeah, it is a rather expensive experience if you're a camper for sure lol

@sophieannerosil8285 3 месяца назад

can i choose to bunk with someone i already know

@lilyjmerrick Месяц назад

As a counsellor this is unlikely because usually they like everyone to mix up and get to know eachother equally as well so they won't want two counsellors in one cabin that know eachother really well and then other counsellors in that cabin that might end up feeling isolated. They may put you in the same division or group of cabins but I would say it is unlikely to be put in the same cabin.

@ariellarees-davies2902 Месяц назад

No clue if you'll see this as this was posted a year ago ahaha. I'm looking to apply for 2025 and was wondering if you had any nerves about having such a big responsibility with the kids, I've taught kids in my dance school and have babysat before (getting more experience throughout the year) I'm just worried that I'll go and feel overwhelmed. But I'm so excited and really want to experience this!!!

@lilyjmerrick Месяц назад

I totally understand those nerves, it's completely expected to be honest. Most people go into this with actually very minimal experience working with kids, even less than you, so I wouldn't worry yourself too much. I can't speak for every camp but I know at mine and at many others there is a lot of support and higher staff to help you if you need it when you are there! And I know at least for our camp we have a week of orientation which will be when you can ask any questions to ease your mind and they will give you talks on how to handle certain situations and such. Honestly, it is totally normal to have those nerves, I think it would be odd if you didn't to be frank, but it will be fine I'm sure :)))

@ariellarees-davies2902 29 дней назад

@@lilyjmerrick Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your advice. I’ve signed up today! Tried to swallow the nerves and just go for it as I’m sure i’ll love it! I’m gaining more experience over the summer so hopefully it’ll ease my nerves a little more! Honestly I really appreciate your advice it helped me a lot xx

@lilyjmerrick 29 дней назад

@@ariellarees-davies2902 I’m so glad! Very excited for you, I’m sure you’ll have such a good time next summer! I’m hoping to be off again to camp next summer too! :)))

@sarah-louisefinnegan9736 Год назад

How do nights work for those under 21?

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Do you mean nights off from camp?

@liamsastokie Год назад

@@lilyjmerrickI’m going to answer yes for them because I’m interested also

@college-molly7470 2 месяца назад

Are you able to wear gel nail polish? x

@lilyjmerrick 2 месяца назад

I never did but I wouldn’t say it’s not possible! Pretty sure quite a few others had gels but unless you’re going to get nails done on your off days you will have to accept the same gels for like two months xx

@michaelcollins5308 Год назад

Hi, how easy do you think it is to get hired to camp america? what was your specific role?

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Hey, I would say so yes! I am a general counsellor but there are soooo many roles out there and some in way higher demand then general counsellor. Generally speaking it’s easier the earlier you apply but camps are still looking to hire close to start dates too. I would say there’s not really a downside to applying so just see. (Also I went to a recruitment fair which is a ridiculously high success rate so would 10/10 recommend that. I hope this helped x

@michaelcollins5308 Год назад

@@lilyjmerrick That's amazing thank you, I was kinda thinking It would be hard to find a role just I'm a little older at 28 got a degree in marine biology so was thinking the job oppertunities could have been smaller, so at the fair do you just go to the stall areas you wanna apply for ?

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

Yeah so at the fair you will find a load of stalls with all the different camps and they usually will have a board in front of the stall specifying which counsellors they are looking to hire so that you don't waste your time waiting to talk to a camp director who doesn't need you lol. However, I don't think this years intake has another recruitment fair although I could be wrong. But the online application should be more than sufficient, I'm not sure how age plays into it though - all the counsellors at my camp were 25 and below but I can't imagine it prohibiting you too much if at all :)

@michaelcollins5308 Год назад

@@lilyjmerrick Thank you, is there any specific roles you can remember that were quite high in demand?

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

From my memory, roles like lifeguard is in the highest demand because you do need a qualification to prove that you can do the job - so if you have that or are planning on getting it then it'll be somewhat easier to get placed. Specialised counsellor roles, like football, archery, tennis etc. are perhaps harder to get so I guess by default they are in higher demand but ofc for these roles, they're much easier to acquire if you have the relevant experience/qualifications. General Counsellor is the final catagory and I reckon it is the most saturated in regards to how many people go for it however each camp will have a large amount of general counsellors. All in all, getting hired is not so difficult - as long as you start application early-ish and you're confident that it's the right job for you x

@Khal.eahh. Год назад

Why is my camp america saying my application is not finished or is not camp ready. Is it because I didn't upload a video?

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

It could be, they do like to promote the enhance features of like photos and a video but they aren’t mandatory. I would just recommend going through it one last time and then you can simply chat with someone from Camp America on the website and ask them what you still need to do. It could be to do with your references because I know mine took a while to get done x

@Khal.eahh. Год назад

@Lily Merrick what about the references, because they both filled out the form they received. I've contacted camp america but no response, so I'm assuming it's because of the video

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

@@Khal.eahh. they make take a while to respond but yeah if the references are done then it is perhaps the video. Or maybe the interview? I’m assuming you’ve completed the camp America interview.

@Khal.eahh. Год назад

@Lily Merrick No, in regards for the interview applications are not open in my country at the moment. Weird🤔

@lilyjmerrick Год назад

ah I see, yeah I reckon they are referring to the interview section then. Not sure why they wouldn't have it open at the moment. Best I can suggest is contact them again and hope they get back to you to sort it out. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

@bluemango7894 7 месяцев назад

Hi i was wondering what time of year is best to start applying?💗

@lilyjmerrick 7 месяцев назад

Honestly, anytime of year is a good time because camps can be hiring as close as a month or two before their summer begins. Obviously for more options, the best time would be autumn or winter of the year before x