How to make the type of camp friends that will be in your wedding party.

Welcome to episode 16 of First Class Counsellors!

Matt here - I usually write these posts in the 3rd person, but this episode really hits home for me.

99% of my closest friends are camp friends.

I had a rough high-school experience. I wasn’t able to find a solid group of friends and never really felt like I had a group of people that loved me for who I really was.

Camp changed everything for me. Because of camp, I found out what I was missing in those relationships at home. Those people got me. Over the course of one, maybe two summers, I felt like I had a community of people that supported me and that I could turn to whenever I was in need. We stayed connected in the off-season and grew closer and closer with every year.

Fast-forward 13 years. Every person in mine and my wife’s wedding party was a camp person. We spend every new-years together and talk in a group message almost every day.

I’m truly blessed.

Now, not every person’s camp experience will like mine. I had the privilege of being the best friend of the director’s son and I was a long-time camper before becoming a staff member. I wasn’t an international staff member and didn’t have to understand both the culture of camp AND the country I was in.

My privilege aside. I truly believe that camp is one of the best places to make lifelong friends and that’s why we did a whole podcast episode on it.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

Why the conditions at camp are perfect for making friends
How to make friends at camp this summer
Ways to have great camp friends and still prioritize your job
A whole lot of other ideas on how to form lifelong connections this summer

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

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

Oliver:

Get a BUNCH of high-quality stickers! People love putting them on their water-bottles and you can use them as rewards for people remembering their water-bottles.

Matt:

Get yourself a good backpack for this summer. In Matt’s camp bag, you’ll always find:
- A mini first aid kit
- A GOOD raincoat
- Deck of cards or small board games
- Hackey Sack or small ball
- Waterbottle & Coffee Mug
- Extra socks
- Granola bar if you’re allowed

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 isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

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.