6 Reasons why Camp is the best prep for College

Wednesday, September 10th, 2014

I have often heard my camp friends say they have “no idea how they would have survived college without Birch Hill,” and the same goes for me.  Add that to the list of other things I would not have survived: studying abroad, job interviews,  dating, public speaking, etc. Every time I am nervous in a public speaking situation I say to myself, “It’s just like cove. Pretend you’re at cove.” And then I am a total rockstar (not to toot my own horn).  Our camp counselors and staff feel lucky to have the opportunity to coach our campers through basic and challenging life skills that give them confidence in school, which is crucial with college on the horizon.

The Basics. Spending time away from home leads to independent decision making skills. Things as simple as deciding how to eat a healthy breakfast for your busy day are not so simple for a ten year old, but fear not – camp is great practice. As a camper you definitely have to multi-task, like when you have lip sync practice with your cabin AND you signed up for blindfolded rock wall relays during Personal Choice. But, you deal.  Living with 8 to 10 others in a smallish, wooden box and sharing one shower doesn’t hurt either.

Tradition. Both college campuses and summer camps cherish their long-time traditions.  That is often why we refer to Birch Hill as a ‘traditional, co-ed, sleepaway summer camp in New Hampshire’.  Birch Hillers are borderline obsessed with fulfilling their role in these traditions and it would be tragic to them if we ever changed ANYTHING, ie: my Dad will never allow my husband and I to move into La Casa because, “That’s what ALL the girls look forward to during their younger years. We are never taking that away.” – Rich Morell

Making friends without judgement.   From the start Birch Hill has offered an incredibly inclusive environment for first-time campers, for staff, for the petting zoo animals… The list could go on forever. We want everyone to feel the love.  With this foundation, kids at camps tend to hang with buddies they may not otherwise have spent time with – and realized how awesome they are! Diversity is the stuff BH dreams are made of.  Making friends outside of your typical comfort zone definitely does wonders to prepare you for the transition from home to life on “campus”. College campus this time.

Leadership.  There are abundant opportunities to be a leader at camp. Older campers are automatically role models for younger campers, and often vice versa. They take this role seriously too because camp is like a big family, so you suddenly have lots of big and little brothers and sisters that you need to set a good example for. You may think it would be the high-ropes challenge course where the true leader emerges, and it could be, but it could also be a the camper with a small role in the play that ends up helping all the elves learn their lines.

Spirit. This is a huge part of summer camp, and, well, LIFE.  Our most spirited campers make the best counselors, as we all know that energy is contagious. And at camp? It’s mega-contagious. Going full steam ahead is imperative in most camp activities (especially Evening Program) because you get BH Cup points for enthusiasm and energy.

Enjoy the ride. It may not be until after spending a few summers at camp that it sinks in that at some point, 16 in our case, you age out.  Devastating, right? This teaches us to enjoy and embrace each moment.  Past campers often show up to college already knowing that new friends are at every corner and that these are the moments to cherish.

Julie Morell Butler. Yahooing since 1994. MLIBH.