My Camp Story: Joshua Bower
“What am I doing? I will see how this goes and just leave.”
These were the only thoughts going through my head on an average January day in London. The Camps had been in the venue for hours, I had been there hours and the queue for the Camps lasted hours. I decided to stop at one last stall on the way out.
That was the beginning of my Camp story.
My name is Joshua Bower and I have had the privilege of working at Camp Burgess and Hayward for 6 years consecutively and recently visited after my first year of not working the summer months.
My first year was 2009 and when people say you have no idea what you are getting yourself into, you really have no idea what you are getting yourself into. The build up to the summer was fairly tame for myself as I was fairly shy in reaching out to members of the Camp community before I had actually met them. This changed when all of a sudden I was getting messages online from returning members of staff, they were checking in on me and asking if I had any questions that they could help with. I was the International Sports Counselor and my first unit was the Voyagers. My first Counselor was John Baimas with Kody Crawford as our Junior Counselor!
The summer itself was absolutely fantastic and from it, it was my first time away really from the UK alone. The fact I was working all day and then living with the people I worked with was, at first, daunting. If you speak to any member of staff that has ever worked at Camp Burgess and Hayward though, you will get the feeling that every member of that staff is considered family. You get a chance to know people, bond with them and establish friendships and relationships that last a lifetime. Camp is the only place where you cannot afford to wear a mask. You have no time to be anyone other than yourself because you are in this position and job where you are around the same people all the time. Because of this vulnerability, we are all more open with each other, establishing this connection that will inevitably stay with you for life.
The independence that you develop from working at Camp is amazing. Being away from home you sometimes have to figure out how to do your washing on your days off. You will be surprised at how fast you get better and more efficient with your laundry as well as dealing with any issues that arise. There is the added stress of the majority of staff members being in university at the time, so the pressure from across the pond from family members and results are constantly on your mind. But, I can safely say that coming back from Camp my first year I was changed for the better. The joy and enthusiasm that all the staff possess is infectious and you can not help but start most stories once you are home with “This one time, at Camp…” or sit through a meal at a table without looking for the 20 minutes to be up before smashing the table with your hands (Apparently not that acceptable in most restaurants for future reference). Aside from this, you really do notice how far out of their way people would go to help each other at Camp and that it was always done for no other purpose than they wanted to help. It was a great life lesson and something that I try and put into practice in everyday life.
If your first year at Camp is exciting then the first summer you come back as a “returner” is, I wouldn’t say better, but different in the sense that you finally get to see what Camp is like through the eyes of a first year staff member and be a part of their Camp journey from the start. The excitement starts for you as soon as you have been rehired and I am sure I am not the only one that had a “countdown to Camp” in their room. I returned as International Sports Counselor again and even got a chance to be a solo Counselor in Tuckernuck. That certainly was a lesson in multi-tasking and coping with multiple things going on at once that I will always remember.
But, the biggest impact Camp has had on my life is the year I spent there as part of the OE staff of 2011.
It was my first year as Resource as well as being at the Camp for nine months consecutively. It was also the first year I met Asa. I have told him before, but I still thank him for being my boss. I learned a lot from him professionally and personally. Highlights from this time at Camp would be starting the farm by building the vegetable garden and polly tunnel. Being the Nature Director at Camp was my dream job too! I was getting face time with the Campers as well as being able to help with the running of the Camp. Living on Camp year round allowed me to see exactly how much work goes into keeping everything going and the amount of hard work and dedication that all of the full time staff show on a daily basis. With the Camp community contributing throughout the year on several occasions in organized events, the site is maintained well and looked after by everyone ensuring it is looking its best! As the season and weather changed, so did the types of groups we would have in. Elementary schools mostly in the spring, and after summer camp, were college groups and group retreats as well as some specialty groups that come for short camp experiences. There were nights at Camp in the dark winter months where there would be no one staying on camp except for the remaining OE staff. It was in these months and quiet times where I got to reflect on what my time out there had meant to me. Standing in pouring rain, driving snow and blistering sunshine, the expression on my face rarely changed. Smiling was easy when you loved your job and loved the people you work with.
A further two years were added after this on Resource with occasional periods in the OE program extending into the early fall.
I struggle to find the words to adequately sum up my Camp experiences though my 6 years of working as part of the B+H family. Inevitably, every time you bring up Summer Camp to anyone who has been there before, you will realize that there are endless tangents and rabbit holes that you can fall into when thinking back about your favorite time at Camp. I wish everyone in the Camp community the very best over the up and coming holiday months!
Currently I am back in the UK and travelling between here and Boston as often as I can to visit my girlfriend. We met at camp my first year. I have spent some time helping to establish an Outdoor Education Centre over the past summer as their head of Sales and Marketing and now looking for my next adventure!