How one summer at camp will give you the best results of your life!

Epic tan lines
Yes, we’re currently baking in the heat here in the UK and have probably moaned the words “it’s too hot” at least 10 times today, but luckily the heat hits differently over there. Think spending your summer outdoors with a lake to jump in, a slip n slide to slide down and some incredible ice cream flavours to cool yourself down each day. After 9+ weeks enjoying American sunshine, you’ll realise your tan got a tan and you’ll have some epic lines to remember years from now (I’ve totally still got the classic friendship bracelet lines, 4 summers later!!)

Friends around the world
Thankfully, a summer at camp is never complete without gaining a handful of special friends at the end of it. Camp brings together people from all over – from different cultures, walks of life and the most weird and wonderful personalities you could ever imagine. The saying is true, camp friends are the best friends. You spend so much time with them and they see you at your absolute best; singing around the campfire and dancing on tables, but also at your worst; a couple days without a shower and about to explode when you haven’t had a great nights sleep, yet they still love you. You think time flies when you’re having fun? Wait until camp. You blink and suddenly you’re in a sobbing circle of friends on the last day, wishing time travel could be invented already so you could go back and relive the adventure all over again. Thanks to the life of FaceTime catch-ups, you become an absolute pro at knowing what time it is all over the world and you spend the rest of your days counting down to the next reunion. Best thing about it? You end up with friends in America, New Zealand, Europe and afar, so you’ve got the perfect excuse to travel more (and cheaply) because now you have a sofa to sleep on, in all corners of the world!!

Made a difference
One summer, or five summers, no matter what type of camp you work at and how many summers you work, you’ll have spent your summer being a role model. At camp you become an older brother/sister, a parent, a friend, a nurse, a coach, a leader, a joker…all roles imaginable, blended into one, to provide the utmost experience for each kid that steps foot into camp. The campers spend their summer looking up to you; they’ll turn to you for advice, for laughter and sometimes a shoulder to cry on. They will make you feel like the most important person in the world, because to them - you are. Of course we don’t have favourites at camp… but there are always those campers that come into your life and unexpectedly change it. Whether it’s a camper who has transformed in character over the summer, a difficult camper who found their feet, or a camper set to be the next Oscar winning actor; no matter the story, they will always break your heart when you have to say goodbye. And no matter how many years go by, they’ll continue to tell their camp stories about amazing memories that you made happen, and you will always remember them and the impact they made on that big, camp counsellor heart of yours.

Developed skills without realising
Yes, you will spend your summer in the sun, singing songs at the top of your lungs, racing friends on the zip line, splashing about in the pool, roasting marshmallows over a fire, pulling some questionable dance moves and chilling out at the lake, but there’s more to it, a lot more. Here at Camp America, we’ve been sending people to camp since 1969 which means we are the oldest and biggest summer camp provider! Camp America is a globally recognised cultural exchange programme which means by doing just one summer at camp, you’ll have something to talk about at interview (and personally) for the rest of your life!  Every interview I’ve had following a summer at camp, has always reverted back to my time at camp. In a time when jobs are more competitive than ever before, employers value real experiences; real experiences that allow individuals to travel and work at the same time - demonstrating independence, confidence, leadership and overall, a better understanding of the world. The best part about it? At camp you’ve developed all these life skills without truly realising. You dealt with children throwing up, working after little sleep, being thrown into a lake and teaching archery with no previous knowledge of how to shoot an arrow. And thanks to all these crazy experiences, back home you’re ready to take on the world (both personally and professionally) and your time at camp is now the perfect way to make your CV stand out from the crowd!!

Best version of yourself
The most important result of all. Camp without a doubt changes you for the better, no matter how many summers you spent there.  At camp you get to be a reinvention of yourself and because everyone around you is doing the same, it’s the most positive, carefree, judgement free environment, that allows you to develop a strong sense of identity that you can bring forward in your everyday life. You’ll leave camp a more confident, happy, open person and on top of the incredible memories you’ve made, you’d have developed a true sense of belonging and purpose…you’d be surprised how many individuals futures are shaped by their one summer at camp. Overall, camp becomes a place to call home with people who feel like family. Camp makes a mark on everyone, but everyone makes their mark on camp, and that’s what’s most important.  

Spend your summer with Camp America, it’s more than just a bit of fun. https://mycampamerica.com/register