Camp Mason

Teamwork and Communication

nikkiBy Nikki Reiff, Outdoor Center Program Director

Greetings from me, Nikki, Camp Mason’s new Outdoor Center Program Director!

One year ago I drove up to Camp Mason for the first time. I was fresh out of Rutgers and couldn’t have predicted that I would find my passion here—that I would fall in love with everything that Camp Mason has to offer, that this place would become home.

Neither a degree in ecology and natural resources, nor New York City ‘street smarts’ could prepare me for what I would learn in the following year at Camp Mason.

I learned how to belay…
I learned how to tie a double figure eight knot on a bite…
I learned how to use the learning cycle to engage children in their surroundings…
I learned how to teach an hour long astronomy hike, indoors in the rain…
I learned how to use field initiatives to evaluate a groups’ dynamics…
I learned that a simple word of encouragement can go a long way…
I learned that the sounds of cicadas were far more comforting than those of a busy road…
I learned how to push past my comfort zone…
I learned never to wear nice clothes at a campfire…
I learned to ask questions even if I was self-conscious…
I learned that the smell of the woods never gets old…
I learned that the smell of bear cans gets old really, really fast…
I learned how to work with people that I am not friends with…
I learned how to work with people that I love…
I learned how to love the people that I work with…
I learned the difference between rules and guidelines…
I learned to appreciate the diversity and background that every single person; staff, student, camper, chaperone, visitor that’s passed through here…
I learned that life is all about the interactions we have—with each other and our environment…

I still have not learned the summer camp hand stomp.

One year later, all this experience and camp wisdom has taught me what I think to be the key to being a successful outdoor center program director here at Mason; teamwork and communication.

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Basically, Camp Is Cooler Than School

sam-4By Sam Loop, Summer Camp Iroquois Counselor and Reluctant Student

I have a confession to make.

I totally lied on my college application.

My apologies to the Georgia Institute of Technology, may you find it in your hearts to forgive me.

The year was 2014, and it was actually the Common App essay, and the prompt was “Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family” (I still have the essay saved on my computer), and having just finished working at camp for the first time that summer and being able to think of nothing but camp, camp people, camp songs, etc. it seemed only natural that I would write about camp.

sam-3So, I conjured up a draft, tweaked and re-tweaked it about seventy times, had Dad, friends, and various high school faculty read it, and submitted it to five schools. Done and done!

The essay was good; I don’t think lying changed that. It detailed misgivings about myself as a counselor and whether I would be able to give back to kids what my counselors gave to me from 2007 on. I spoke of paranoia of being too strict and the simultaneous fear of being too easygoing and thus easily manipulated. I talked about how it was my first “real” job, and I was subsequently afraid of “messing up,” and the essay travels over the realization of how I was letting go of my true self, only to realize that my true self was the Sam hired in the first place, culminating in the conclusion that “I don’t think I was ever truly an adult until I embraced the child within me.”

(Actual sentence from my college essay. Kind of yuck, but they love stuff like that.)

This won’t sound humble, but I am going to say it: I never doubted myself as a counselor. I love working with people. I came from a great counselor-in-training program and most importantly, I had awesome staff members to look up to and learn from. This combination allowed me to jump into the job with energy, enthusiasm, and constant euphoria. The most doubt I ever encountered was probably around the same time I got whipped cream in my hair during Closing Campfire that turned sour. But overall, I knew I was working at the Coolest Place On Earth, and I think so long as you can remember that and channel it into your performance, you can be a child’s Favorite Counselor Ever.

I have another confession to make.sam-2

My essay was not all that dishonest as I may have chalked it up to be. There is a beautiful truth that I tried to convey in my essay, and that I will try to convey to you now.

While camp has changed in a plethora of ways over the 10 years I have been there, one thing remains constant: self-discovery. This is self-discovery in ways that cannot be translated directly onto paper;
that cannot be calculated as quantities and graphed; that cannot be given a scientific explanation and a research paper to boot. People have told me that I changed while at camp; that I’ve come back more carefree, more pensive, more considerate – I definitely have, but these aren’t necessarily due to changes within me. It’s because you go to camp, and you learn. You learn the tangible – how to start a fire, how to play gaga, how to wear the same shirt for three days without washing it so no one notices. And then you learn the intangible.

You learn that sometimes it’s better to just sit back and listen.

You learn that no one is documenting your every flaw and mistake.

You learn that sometimes it’s best to listen to your gut and leap where you would have otherwise backed away slowly.

Most of all, you learn to trust yourself. To find comfort in yourself. To recognize that you can be virtually unstoppable because you well and truly know everything that you are capable of, which includes overcoming any obstacle.

This is true power. Forget every other definition of it.

Camp is an escape, it is a second home, it is a vacation. It has been all these things and more for me. Despite being two weeks, or four or six or eight or nine, it is a life-long journey and adventure all rolled up into one. In particular, it has been an education like none other I have ever received.

I don’t know that 17-year-old me could find words to explain the Camp Sensation. 19-year-old me is still having trouble right at this moment.

Yet honestly? I think it wise that admissions folks don’t hear that what camp taught me is going to be far more special than anything their school has to offer.

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What a Summer!

Anna Bilton Blog PhotoBy Anna Bilton, Summer Camp Director 

It feels like just yesterday that welcomed our first campers of the season and yet I can’t seem to find the counselors, I haven’t heard the hand stomp lately and no one has showed up for flag raising for weeks! It can only mean one thing: Summer Camp 2016 is over. While it’s hard to believe that another summer at Camp Mason has been and gone there is no shortage of memories to keep it alive for a whole lot longer yet! This year was my fourth summer at Camp Mason and genuinely the best one so far. Each and every summer the community at camp continues to amaze me with their compassion, care and downright silliness! To help me to overcome the post-summer camp blues I’d like to share a few of my favorite moments from this year.

Occupy Mason

As a part of our Masonstock Theme Day, the whole camp held a march on the camp office to protest all manner of major camp issues including sloppy joes, getting that bell outside the dining hall to ring and of course, more time to spend with my dog, Buseok. Some protesters had set up tents, the security team had sirens and a hose to cool down the masses, and everyone came dressed for the occasion. It doesn’t get funnier than watching our CEO, Keith, all dressed up for a day at the office try to calm down the crowd and move them on. It was a great start to the weekend!

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Anything at Day Camp

Every time I strolled down to the Day Camp area I was instantly entertained. If you are ever in need of a pick-me-up then our fabulous day campers are the people to help you out. From getting messy to playing creative games, singing songs to pulling faces – Day Camp does it with the most enthusiasm and energy they can. This year the day camp staff went all out for their theme days and every Friday morning I looked forward to seeing their costumes and characters as I strolled over to flag raising. They can slip and slide like nobody else (it’s an art form) and most importantly, they make a mean rice krispie treat and are always willing to share!

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Algonquin Iron Chef

Sunday Funday will never be the same after witnessing (and smelling) this Algonquin afternoon activity. I’ve seen iron chef activities before but this one was like no other. The rules might sound familiar; each cabin was given a set of ingredients and a time limit to make a meal. In a regular iron chef activity the teams would then present their creation to the judges who would choose the tastiest one but here’s the twist for this game: the campers had a foul array of ingredients and the challenge instead was to see which counselors could handle the taste test. The campers had a riot coming up with combinations that would freak the counselors out and watching them try their handiwork. Sure enough, in good Camp Mason style the counselors were troopers who tried them all and had a hilarious time doing so. They are much braver than me!

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It was not easy to pick just three highlights to share. There were so many I could continue listing great moments from this summer for days! Thank you to all of the campers, families and staff that made summer 2016 unforgettable. It would not have been the same without each and every one of you. I hope you all have fantastic memories to keep you going until next summer when we’ll be doing it all over again at Camp Mason. See you in 2017!

A New Kind of Energy

13438973_10101373539749365_1601697436517481269_nBy Hayley Harrington, Summer Camp Apache Cabin Counselor
Summer camp staff have one of the hardest jobs in the world: making sure that every parent’s most prized creation has an amazing time away from home. Our jobs get even harder when we have to reset every two weeks and recreate the magic for a new group of campers. The impossible task seems to be giving session four a session one; we have already spent at least seven weeks preparing for this group of campers. New staff have more confidence, and returning staff have fallen back into the rhythm that makes camp run smoothly. We work tirelessly around the clock, and exhaustion begins to set in. How do we continue to keep the energy up when all we want to do is take naps? How do we continue to create magic every single day of the summer?
We find a new kind of energy. This sort is seldom found anywhere else in the world other than summer camp. Our energy comes from nothing other than the love of campers. There is nothing more powerful than the unconditional love of children, because for two or four or more weeks, we become the biggest influences in their lives. The collateral exhaustion that comes with our jobs is nothing in comparison to the gratitude received when a child comes to you and thanks you for learning a new skill. When we reflect on our days during cabin chat, there is nothing more powerful than hearing that the best part of a camper’s day was an activity we led or a time we went out of our ways to make a child happy. When we say “the campers come first”, we are not saying it because we do not want to put ourselves first, but because we, as staff, have that new kind of energy. We love what we do because we love our campers more than anything. Regardless of when in the summer our children arrive, we want to show them the world.
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Project Crossroads is back for 2016! We’re in! Are You?

12390996_10153541597496749_7753774273703067288_nBy Melissa Silva, Summer Camp Cabin Life Director

Camper in a 2016 Crossroads Shirt!

Camper in a 2016 Crossroads Shirt!

For a second imagine if you or your son or daughter had never had the opportunity to experience Camp Mason, as a camper or staff member? How would their lives be different? I recently had the opportunity to talk to different staff members, many who had been campers themselves, about this question and the responses were over whelming. Some spoke of this place as a home away from home where they’ve turned to in times of need. Other spoke of the confidence in themselves that developed because of how loved and empowered they felt here. It was clear, Mason was home and without it they would not be who they are today. Now instead imagine if any family, regardless of financial status was able to provide this life altering experience to their son or daughter? This is the hope of Camp Mason’s initiative, Project Crossroads.

On average, 1 out of every 8 campers at Mason receive financial assistance to help make the summer of their lives possible. Project Crossroads is just one of the many ways that summer staff, campers and families help make that a reality. For summer 2016, our goal is to help send 117 children to camp, to mark the 117th summer of Camp Mason. Our staff have already begun raising money through our yearly staff auction. Because of their generosity we were able to raise $2758 dollars! You can help too! At the trading post, campers can buy our camper designed Crossroads t-shirt. For every shirt sold, $8 goes to Project Crossroads. A new addition to Camp Mason this year, Crossroads Cards not only help make our staff feel like celebrities but the proceeds also go entirely to Project Crossroads. With all of these things combined, it is truly amazing to see an entire community rally behind a single cause: Making Mason possible for every child.

A crossroad. We have all been there before. When we reach a point in our lives where we are faced with an important decision. In order to make this decision we reflect on the past and look to the future. Camp Mason is this special place, the crossroad for many of our young people. It is a safe environment not only where they can grow as individuals but also where they are given the tools to meet any obstacle they may face. A walk through our camp on any given day will reveal the smell of campfires, the chuckle of children’s laughter, but must importantly the countless stories, new and old, of how Mason has changed their lives. Let’s help spread this Mason legacy to every child through Project Crossroads!

Click here to make a donation to Project Crossroads.

Summer Camp is Around the Corner!

11825786_1121200707907366_2850426733543746186_nBy Salva Cossu, Assistant Camp Director for Summer Camp 2016

If you already know Camp Mason, you very probably know why everybody wants to come back, year after year, for Summer Camp. The energy, the happiness, the life that fills the Camp bubble is amazing. I came here for the first time in 2008 from France: I still don’t know where my parents actually found Camp Mason but there I was, for my first time in America. I loved it, went back to my country and thought that was it. 7 years later, last summer, I ended up applying to come back as a staff member, got hired, and spent the best summer of my life. Don’t ask me why I waited to do it until so long after my first experience, I still don’t know: Camp Mason drags you in. But what I can tell you is that I met friends for life, kids I taught things to and that taught me things in return.

Everybody here loves what they do each day, the staff members and the kids alike. That’s why everybody is so full of energy and so true. Back to nature, no cellphones, no computers, no virtual reality: your friends are here, with you, laughing, running, talking to each other, being their true selves. In a society where we all want to share every small bit of our lives, to show it, to capture it, Camp Mason is like an island where time stops.

So here I am again, like a lot of staff members and kids, ready for summer 2016 at Camp Mason, ready to have fun, to laugh, to run, to share, to care, to be honest and responsible. To live.

This will be Salva’s second summer as a staff member at Camp Mason and before that he was a camper too. He comes from France and brings passion, care and dedication to his role this summer. We’re excited to have him here busily preparing for Summer Camp! 

Stop and Take It In

DSC_0298By Michael Hwang, Naturalist for the Mason Outdoor Center

Look around: You’re 35 feet above the ground at the top of the Vertical Playpen with your best friend and who knows when you’ll get another chance to conquer the challenging element. Or maybe you’re at the top of the daunting Catfish Fire Tower, watching a turkey vulture soar past as you admire the view. You might even find yourself gliding through the air on a rope swing towards eight new friends who are trying to find room for you to land on the already crowded 3 ft. by 3 ft. platform they call “Proudy’s Landing.”

DSC07652Whatever you’re doing: stop and take it in.

As someone new to Outdoor Education, the last few months have been a whirlwind for me. Fresh from Rutgers University, I moved out to “middle-of-nowhere” Hardwick, New Jersey and immediately began staff training. After meeting new coworkers and friends, I spent the next few weeks (literally) learning the ropes. Soon I had learned ins and outs of multiple high rope elements, teaching skills, and knots, and before I knew it I found myself teaching students from visiting schools about Forest Ecology, Wilderness Survival, and the countless other topics Camp Mason offers.

ase 020But Camp Mason is more than learning about the outdoors and climbing rope ladders. As a staff member, I still find myself constantly amazed at my occupation. Sure, I get to hike trails, canoe on lakes, and shoot rifles. Of course, I get to swing from ropes, cross bridges, and scream songs during campfires, but the part of my job I consistently find the most rewarding is the positive influence I am able to leave on those that spend time here at the camp. Whenever I encourage a student push himself beyond what he thought he was capable of doing, I find myself smiling. Every time I notice a camper’s eyes widen with excitement when she catches a dragonfly nymph during a Pond Ecology class, I become thrilled. When I see the moment a group collectively realizes the key to solving a team building puzzle they’ve been struggling on, I become filled with pride. If they say “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” I don’t think I’ve worked a single day at Camp Mason so far.

For me, it’s all about instilling the passion for the outdoors and nature in those that normally don’t see this side of learning. Nature has so much to offer, and here at Camp Mason, we try our best to show everyone the best of it. So if you’re ever find yourself spending some time at Camp Mason, take the best advice I can give you as a staff member: stop and take it in. You won’t regret that you did.

 

Spring Work Weekend Update

bernie_sBy Bernie Sulzer, Facilities Director

We Thank You!!!

Our bi-annual volunteer work weekend was held over this past Mother’s Day weekend and what a turnout we had! Well over 100 people turned out despite the threat of unpleasant weather and while there was a bit of rain on Saturday morning it turned out to be a nice weekend. We had dozens of projects ranging from various landscaping tasks to some fence construction and everything in between. As always we had our Firewood crew at the maintenance shop manning the splitters…they probably split and stacked about a dozen cords of wood over Saturday and Sunday!

I had the opportunity to stop and chat with a lot of our veteran volunteers, it’s always great catching up with people that I only get to see twice a year. There was also a significant number of first timers this spring who jumped right in like they’ve been coming for years! There were so many different projects going on that I can’t list them all here but on behalf of all of us here I extend a hearty thanks to all our volunteers. We did weeks and weeks worth of work in just two days! Bravo! See the gallery below for some pictures of the projects and volunteers.

Sincerely,

Bernie

 

4th Annual Tee Shirt Design Contest Winners!

Anna Bilton Blog PhotoBy Anna Bilton, Summer Camp Director

Every Spring we hold a tee shirt design contest that is open to all of our Summer Campers. The winning design is made and sold in the Trading Post during the summer with all of the profits going towards our camper scholarship campaign. As well as being able to see fellow campers walking around in their creation the winner also receives $50 of trading post credit and 5 days of fruitfulls. Two runners up also receive 5 days of fruitfulls.

This year we had a record number of entries and shortlisting just three finalists was not an easy task. Thank you to all who entered and shared your creativity with us. We have been truly impressed with the quality and care put into the designs. The Camp Mason staff took a vote to determine the final winner and while it was close we did have a clear winner. Here they are:

First Place: Fiona Iosso

Runners Up: Kieran O’Carroll & Mia Loughlin

You can see the winning design below. I can’t wait to buy one from the Trading Post this summer. Congratulations to our three finalists and thank you once again for your efforts!

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Hall of Fame Nominations

By Colleen Murray-Seig, Alumni Committee President

As we all know camp is a magical place that leaves a lasting impression on our hearts and minds. Often the lessons we learn at camp and the people who teach them to us, stay with us with us for the rest of our lives, shaping who we are and how we treat others as well as the planet. Some of these people even inspire us to be better individuals.

As alumni we are asking you to help identify and recognize these people for Camp Mason’s Hall of Fame. The nominees must meet at least one of the following criteria:DSC_0125

  1. Persons who went on from Camp to achieve great success in the real world – with camp surely having contributed to this success.
  2. Persons who were so influential and respected that they made a serious impact in the lives of many fellow campers and staff during their time here.
  3. Persons who have since made a major contribution to Camp as volunteers, donors, or in other ways that have made Camp the successful and wonderful place it is.

If you know someone who you think would fit the bill, please follow this link, fill out the form and nominate them along with the reasons why you think they should be honored. Deadline for nominations are Friday, May 6th so that we can start the process of deliberations. Help us to recognize and give back to those who still keep camp close to their hearts.

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YMCA Camp Ralph S. Mason
23 Birch Ridge Road
Hardwick, NJ 07825
Phone: 908-362-8217
Fax: 908-362-5767
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