Find out what our amazing Summer Staff Member has to say about his past 4 summer experiences!
How long you’ve been working with ACA?
I started in summer 2020 so the Vermont program was my first program. Ever since, I’ve been back each summer so I did Vermont for two summers and then Barcelona for the last two years. I am so excited to come back each summer!
What is your role typically during the programs?
I am one of the camp counselors. I am living with the students throughout the entire Summer in the residence or hotel and I also take them to activities. I’m with them 24/7. It’s such a good time!
Share a favorite moment that you’ve had during one of your summers with ACA:
One that I can’t stop thinking about is in Spain actually, there is a site called Montjuïc that puts on a light show which is in a very cool area. It’s a giant monument area and once we get there we realized how many steps it is. All the students, were like oh my gosh this is going to be a trek! What was really exciting about it was at the top, and this was one of our first two nights where everyone was still getting to know each other, we were just sitting and relaxing and it was really cool to see like the entire city of Barcelona and that’s that first night where I think everyone really like bonded after going through that trek together to get to the top of the top. And the light show was such a sight to see so that was one of my favorite experiences so far!
Talk about a little bit about the experience that you see evolving with the students and those friendships that are developing over the course of the days and the weeks that everybody’s together. How do you see that formulating?
That’s one reason I love coming back is to be able to be one of the people that fosters these relationships and see the same thing time and time again. Usually students will come and the homesickness will hit, especially for students who haven’t been away from their parents or families before and just knowing they’re going to be here for 3 or 4 weeks, it can feel like a long time when you are separated by distance. What I have seen is students coming together, doing activities that they wouldn’t normally think they would do and finding commonalities with people they wouldn’t normally go out of their way to talk with and to meet. It’s funny to see that at the beginning because by the last day, everyone wants another day, everyone wants another week! And that is a testament to the counselors that are there and the students for stepping out of their comfort zones and just trying new things. It’s so special to see at the end of the program you know everyone’s feeling so great about their experience they’ve made and have deeper connections and friendships.
What do you look forward to this summer?
I just like seeing students grow and find different parts of themselves. It’s really cool to see them open up to see who they were at the beginning of the program to the end of the program. Coming back, I’m just looking to be able to provide that for them again. I moved around a lot when I was younger so I know what it feels like to jump into a new environment and not really know anyone or anything about the place so having me be there to be able to be like here are the things I wanna make sure happen and the things I wanna make sure don’t happen to make sure they are having an amazing experience, that’s what I want to do.
