Meet the Summer Staff of 2015 - Your APD

Let it be known: I am now officially considering it spring.

(How? There's still snow on the ground! There's about to be more snow falling from the sky! How is it Spring?! Well. Spring starts March 21st, therefore spring starts in March, it is currently March, and using the transitive property if Spring = March and March = Now, Now must equal spring.  I don't care what the groundhog, or temperature, or 3 feet of snow out my office window say. Now = Spring. That's just math. That's just science. Even if it is faulty math and science.)

So, now that that's out of the way, and since it's officially spring I'm unveiling the first blogpost in our 17 part (ish) Springtime Series: Meet the Summer Staff of 2015!

Our standard format is going to be that returning staff interview brand-new staff, but we're starting with something a little different, because we have a returning staff member in a job that's so new, she gets a new staff interview.

So, it's time for...

JIM AND BEN

Camp Director and Program Director

--------------INTERVIEW--------------

JACLYN "Beale St." BEALER

Assistant Program Director

Ben: So, Beale St...you've been a counselor here, and for several years now you've been our CIT Coordinator. What are you looking forward to the MOST about your promotion to APD, and helping to run the whole show?

Jaclyn: Where do I begin? I'm not exaggerating when I say that camp has changed my life. From the amazing people I've met, to the lessons I've learned, to the person I've become - I owe that to the campers and staff members of our little woodland utopia. I'm so thrilled that I get to pay that forward as APD. This summer, I'll have the opportunity to help a new generation of senior staff members and counselors become the best version of themselves and in turn, create a community that is pure magic.

Jim: What is your first camp memory?

Jaclyn: My first camp memory goes all the way back to 4th grade. I was in 4-H and my mom convinced me that I should give the whole "camp thing" a try. Our county 4-H agent (shout out to Pike County, PA) hosted a camp information session and I remember thinking, "This is going to be the worst!" As the months ticked by, I dreaded the idea of spending a week in the woods. Even so, my parents put me bus to summer camp and waved goodbye. Clearly, something went well during that first week because here I am - almost 20 years later - still spending my summers at 4-H camp.
Jim: If you were giving advice to little camper Bealer for her first week of camp, what would it be?

Jaclyn: Relax! Nothing is ever as bad as it seems.

Ben: What was the biggest change going from a counselor to a coordinator, and what do you anticipate being the biggest change going from a coordinator to a director?

Jaclyn: Biggest change from counselor to coordinator was taking ownership over an entire course area. Redesigning the CIT program was a massive challenge, but after 3 years - I can definitely say that all the hard work paid off. Now, I'm not responsible for an entire course area, but for an entire camp! Whoa!

Ben: Whoa is right. Whoa is exactly what I would say. What is the most exciting aspect of being responsible for an entire camp?

Jaclyn: Being able to create what I want to be a part of! How often does someone get to help design a community of like-minded people who all share the goal of making the world the better place, one camper at a time.

Jim: If you could have dinner with any staff member from the years you went to and the years you work at camp, with whom would it be, and why?

Jaclyn: I would love to have dinner with my very first co-counselor, Megan Powers! We had such a hilarious (and glitter-filled) time together in Cabin 11, it would be wonderful to hang out again. Curse living at opposite ends of the country!

Ben: If you could be a cabin mate with one NON-HUMAN resident of Camp, who would it be?

Jaclyn: Velcro! Imagine the tails (*editors note: Intentional pun on "tales", I think...) that turtle has to tell...

Ben: What would you and Velcro offer for cabin choice night?

Jaclyn: Underwater camouflage, obviously.

Jim: What is your favorite staff training activity?

Jaclyn: True Colors! I'm a nerd for introspective activities and love learning about each other's personalities, strengths, weaknesses, etc. What can I say? I'm a total Blue. (*editors note - True Colors is a personality identification we do during Staff Training that highlights the different types of people we have coming together to form the Camp team. The Blues are the most empathetic, caring, and emotional. AKA, Ms. Jaclyn Bealer.)

Ben: If you could take one building on camp and turn it into an ocean-faring vessel, which building would it be and why? And where would you sail?

Jaclyn: Probably the Boat House - not only for the obvious water-related perks, but also for the birds nest and adorable baby birds that live there each summer. Me, the birds, and the boat house would set sail for the Galapagos Islands! Boat House Bonus: an ample supply of Kayaks to cruise around the islands searching for sea lions and giant tortoises.

Jim: What was your best day at camp?

Jaclyn: Actually, my best day at camp was just this past week! On the first night of leadership weekend, with 30 of my former CITs and Volunteers gathered around the campfire (well, wood stove in the Nature Center,) Ben told everyone that I would no longer be the CIT Coordinator. The general reaction was a collective, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" And then, Ben continued with, "Because Jaclyn has been promoted to Assistant Program Director!" The room erupted in cheers and applause, and in that moment - looking at the smiling, supportive faces I've watched grow up over the last 5 years - I understood what true success felt like. And for that, I will forever be grateful.

Jim: If there was one thing you would want a camper to take back from camp...one thing they could get out of the experience…what would it be?

Jaclyn: There are so many pressures at home and at school to act and be a certain way - it can get exhausting. I want each and every camper to leave our corner of the forest knowing that there is at least one place in this world where they can just breathe; where they are truly valued and appreciated for the person they are right here, right now.
*DROPS MIC, WALKS AWAY, TAKES NAP*