Role Model Magic at Camp

Campers get to have a wide range of experiences that can evoke joy, acceptance and excitement, as well as create challenges and even difficulties. Camp provides opportunities to do things you have never done before or explore different parts of your identity.

BY DOUG SUTHERLAND

Going to camp can be life-altering, with great implications for success and growth. One example is the possibility of finding a role model. During staff training/orientation, camp administrators talk to staff about the importance of being a role model. They may define a role model as someone others can look up to. But the truth is that there’s no one definition of a “best” role model.

When I hire staff, I look for a diverse mix: some who are outgoing and highly energetic, others with a calm, steady demeanor. I also look for those who mirror the challenges their campers’ experience. For example, if a camp has campers of color or those from low-income communities, or who embody a non-heteronormative gender identity, it’s helpful to have staff members with similar backgrounds or identity. Campers need to see themselves in the camp staff faces and know their experiences are understood.

Of course, no experience of connection is guaranteed. But it helps when a camp provides the opportunity through a deliberate and well-thought-out staff-hiring process. Then, a camp adds in so much more to ensure a great summer: fun activities, new experiences and a caring and supportive community. If there is a person a camper can connect with and look up to, that camper’s experience will be even more memorable, healthy and impactful. When that happens — when a camper meets an adult they can trust, who listens and works with them where they are — that connection can be truly magical.

Doug Sutherland is a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) advocate, consultant and workshop facilitator who has been a part of the summer camp field for more than 20 years.