Camp Green Meadows or 6th grade camp is a week long trip to Yosemite. To attend as a student is an event all kids are excited about, but to attend as a camp counselor is an even bigger event to anticipate as a high school student.

To become a camp leader, high school students must have good grades and be able to take on many responsibilities. This is only available for third and fourth year high school students. People are chosen from a list of volunteers. Some considerations students need to understand before accepting this position is getting behind in school work so try to get work ahead of time.  Also, this also looks good on a resume or college application.  Students receive volunteer hours and a letter of recommendation if needed.

Approximately, 130 students and eight camp leaders, teachers, and naturalists attend the event. For every cabin there are about 13 kids and two camp leaders. Camp leaders are responsible for watching the students all night and most of the day making sure they follow all the rules and stay on task. They get two meetings and a break away from students for a few hours.

Although camp leaders have a big responsibility and high expectations, it is still fun. It sounds like this position is hard and can be challenging, but it is also relatively easy once you get in the rhythm of the schedule. Camp Green Meadow does a good job at keeping the same schedule every day and following it. To summarize a normal day at Camp Green Meadows, students get up around seven then have breakfast and begin classes and activities until lunch. After lunch there are more classes then dinner and students end the day with some fun night classes and a campfire. The first two days are a little hectic as everyone is barely getting familiar with the environment and everything. By the third day everyone knows what is going on and they know what to do so they can enjoy themselves.

The classes engage students in fun activities while they learn. Some kids don’t even notice that they are learning. At the end of the day the kids are tired. The kids grow this relationship with camp leaders making the hardships and difficult times of the trip worth it. The camp leaders have great relationships between themselves as well by the time the week is over.

If you are interested in becoming a camp counselor, see you counselor for more information.