Camp Counselor Personal Statement

Working with people is what I am passionate about. Two summers ago I had the incredible opportunity to be a camp counselor. My favorite part of that entire experience was watching as each of the girls in my cabin began to see what they were fully capable of. Whether it was participating in the group activities, or opening up about their lives without fear of judgment. There is something so satisfying when I watch as someone improves his or her life and I was a part of that process. This is one of the primary reasons that I am interested in a career in recreation and leisure services. I want my career to be one that creates communities where people feel welcome and safe.
In addition, I have always enjoyed traveling and tourism. There is something so enthralling about adventuring to a new place and discovering what it has to offer. Every year my dad’s side of the family goes to Sunriver, Oregon. I remember being young and each year, we would make it a priority to find some new place to explore. We would go hiking on trails and through caves, and whitewater rafting down the Deschutes River. Those experiences have instilled within me a sense of adventure.
In high school I was a member of the DECA chapter. Through this program one of my peers and I lead a financial literacy project. We had the opportunity to create activities related to financial literacy and then go into a fourth grade classroom and teach the students through the activities we had created. Each week my partner and I would put countless hours into these activities to ensure they were perfect for the students. And each week we would be exhausted as we finished pulling everything together, but as we watched the students participating and loving the activities that we had created, all of the work was worth it. Looking ahead to working in the field, I can see this enthusiasm for creating experiences for people transferring into my