Camp Staff Alumni Success Stories

Hear directly from our staff and learn what they took away from their time at Camp…

Today I am grading my 10th grade students’ college application essays. One of them wrote about being “shipped off” to TC at 9 years old and how camp made her who she is. While our paths never crossed at camp, the coincidence of having a former camper as a student feels kismet. – Mallory S. (years)

I’ve moved to Portland, OR. I run after school care, Northwest Adventure Company. We go to local parks and have a great time. My time at Camp Twin Creeks was instrumental to what I’m doing now. Trust is instrumental and basic in every day we spend with children. On the face of it, it doesn’t seem like sending somebody down the zip line or building a bonfire has much to do with local kids going to local parks, but the imagination and resolve necessary to build that trust and do the unimaginable at CTC is an everyday skill here too. The friends and family I made (at camp) carry on today. I’ll never forget CTC. Thank you for everything you’ve done, my friend.  – Jake B. (years)

I graduated last December with my MSN. I am now an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. It is a magnet hospital and was recently ranked one of the top 10 cancer centers in the United States. I used my camp experiences during my nursing school and job interviews, emphasizing the importance of my real-life experiences of teamwork, communication, and compassion. I know those experiences still help me today as a floor nurse. Although I am not in a career where I work with kids, being a camper and a camp counselor has 100% helped mold me into who I am today. I hope you and everyone are doing well! – Sarah B. (years)

From a hiring perspective, I look for teachers who have had camp experience. They understand what it means to build and foster relationships with both peers and students. The time spent working at camp requires long hours, balancing physical and emotional stressors, similar to working in a school. For me, it helped shape my personal leadership style and I think back on times at camp when I could have done things differently. – Steph W. (years)

“I wouldn’t be the teacher I’ve been for 18 years
if it weren’t for my time at TC.”

Counselors buy in, don’t care about some kind of image they are projecting, and are literally there to make the kids’ days better. Education requires this kind of flexibility and leadership. I wouldn’t be the teacher I’ve been for 18 years if it weren’t for my time at TC. – Rebecca S. (years)

“Camp builds a confidence in your soul that
is hard to find in any other industry”

Being able to work at TC and witnessing a different camp program than the one I grew up going to had a ton of benefits! It opened my eyes to the outdoor industry and how creative you can get…From photographing the day to day lives of campers in West Virginia to moving out west to guide white water rafting excursions where families entrusted us to keep their kiddos safe to teaching outdoor education in Southern California and finally being able to complete the circle of Directing my childhood summer camp here in Northern Michigan (total run on sentence but whatever). Camp builds a confidence in your soul that is hard to find in any other industry. – Jenna T. (years)

For me it absolutely goes back to building relationships and coming out of your comfort zone. Camp taught me confidence I never knew possible. At face value, sure, I was sending kids up a climbing wall or down the zip line but behind all that there needed to be a huge sense of trust with campers and staff. II may not be in a classroom but each and everyday in handling insurance claims I fall back on what I learned at camp. That “team” mindset is vital and having enough confidence in yourself to teach someone or walk someone through a difficult time is a pretty amazing feeling and I learned SO much of that in my time at camp. – Billy S. (years)

Seems like you have the professional side covered…our time at camp has made Jeremy and I amazing neighbors! Each year we throw a huge Halloween party for our neighborhood kids. We absolutely channel our inner (and younger) camp selves to pull this off! – Stefanie H (years)