Camp Day shows students alternative for summer job

Students in search of an unconventional summer job were in luck Thursday. Eighty summer camps from across the United States came to the Indiana Memorial Union to recruit students for jobs during the annual IU Camp Day.\nCamp Robindel for Girls Staff Coordinator Jeanne Chmelik found Robindel, located in New Hampshire, through Camp Day when she was an undergraduate at IU. \n"I ended up there and loved it so much I went back," she said. Chmelik, who was a pre-med major before her experience at Robindel, came back to IU and changed her major to education. "The product you produce and dealing with kids ... it provides purpose. It's a nice experience away from home. It gave me direction."\nJunior Eliza Hart, who said she came to Camp Day to find a job close to her home in California, agreed. \n"(Kennolyn Camp) is a residential camp with a wide variety, so you get to do everything," she said. She has never worked at a camp before. \n"I would love to be part of that experience," she said. "I love being around kids." Hart had scheduled an interview with a Kennolyn Camp representative for the afternoon.\nJan Nickless, assistant director of the Career Development Center, said students are unaware of the various opportunities the camps offer. She said students majoring in education, psychology and outdoor recreation would greatly benefit from working at a summer camp. \n"Any of these majors, you're going to get the kind of opportunity to work one-on-one," Nickless said.\nThe majority of the camps represented at Camp Day 2001 cater to children and young teens and are sports- and activities-oriented. More than 10 of the camps are YMCA-affiliated. All of the positions for summer internships are paid, and most of the camps last about 10 weeks.\nNickless said an increase in pay comes with increased experiences and skills. "For example, a freshman might make around $800," she said. "As a junior and senior, you make more because you have more experience as an undergrad."\nDarrin Eaton, program director of YMCA Trout Lodge, a family and youth retreat in Potosi, Mo., said students come and work at the camp for the many opportunities. \n"We have a lot of education majors and a lot of social workers," Eaton said. He said Camp Day is well-organized and the ideal setup gives students access to all the booths.\nAnother YMCA-affiliated camp in Louisville, Ky., features an equestrian and adventure program, which includes caving and rock climbing. Camp Piomingo, now in its 64th year, offers programs for children between the ages of 6 and 16. Representing Camp Piomingo, Jamie Jones said Camp Day "is probably the biggest one I've been to. It's considered a really good fair."\nJones said Camp Piomingo requires that applicants have previous experience with children and skills in one of the activities offered. Jones said many of Piomingo's counselors recently graduated from college, so the camp is looking to hire a lot of new people. Jones also said students' college majors do not have to coincide with education or recreation. \n"Most of our most successful counselors aren't necessarily those with lifelong plans to work with children," she said. \nCamp Robindel Assistant Staff and Program Coordinator Jolly Corley said education and recreation majors are not the only students who benefit from the camp experience. \n"For business majors, you're getting those supervision and business skills, even though you're supervising kids," Corley said. She also said IU has been good to Camp Robindel. \n"Our largest amount of counselors are from IU." \nKennolyn Camp, located in Santa Cruz, Calif., also tends to have a large IU following. Camp Director Andrew Townsend said Kennolyn, a co-ed camp for ages 5 to 14, usually has four or five people on staff from IU. Kennolyn Camp has been included in Camp Day for the past eight years. \n"This is the best job fair we go to," Townsend said. "It's so well-organized and they get a lot of people here."\nTownsend said the camp experience helps students land future jobs in many different fields. "Our take on it is that a camp counselor learns so many skills that are critical," he said. "You can't go to camp and not come out of your shell a bit."\nTownsend praised IU for giving students the opportunity to learn about the available summer jobs at the camps. "From California (to) here, IU is the best resource center for summer camps," he said.