Of our 220 staff, we hire three types of staff at Echo Lake: Cabin Specialists/Group Leaders; Activity Specialists/Head Specialists; and Support Staff. All of our staff are crucial to the success of camp whether you are being a role model for the campers, teaching them an activity skill, or making sure we are fed, healthy, and cared for. All of our staff work the same number of hours and get the same time off, as every staff person is a valuable member of our camp community. For both our Cabin Specialists/Group Leaders and our Activity Specialists/Head Specialists, you will be assigned an age group of campers that you will live in a bunk with, eat meals with, and participate in evening activities and special events with. This group becomes your summer family. Each group of 16-24 campers has 1 Group Leader, 3-4 Cabin Specialists, and 3-4 Activity Specialists. The difference between our Cabin Specialists/Group Leaders and our Activity Specialists/Head Specialists positions occurs during the six-activity period of the day. As a Cabin Specialist/Group Leader, during the six activity periods of the day, you follow the same schedule as your campers. Your first job is to monitor the social, emotional, and physical well being of the kids…are they all getting along? Are the drinking enough water? do they have the right equipment for the activity? etc… Your second job is to participate in and motivate the campers for each of their activities. At soccer you may be asked to feed the campers the ball, at art you may be assisting in the creation of a masterpiece, and at swimming you will be in the water with the campers. As a Cabin Specialist/Group Leader you really get to experience all that camp has to offer and form amazing bonds with your group of campers! Each group has 3-4 Cabin Specialists and 1 Group Leader. Although the Group Leader functions much like a Cabin Specialist, they are hired for their leadership, supervisory, and group management skills. Group Leaders are typically 21 years or older and have the wonderful and demanding role of setting the tone for their group, supervising their group’s staff and campers, and acting as the administrative link between their group and the camp leadership staff. As an Activity Specialist/Head Specialist, during the six activity periods of the day, you go to your activity area and teach that activity to any campers, boys or girls, ages 8-16, who were assigned to your activity area for that day. Activity Specialists/Head Specialists are hired because they have extensive prior teaching or coaching experience in that activity area and may even have certain certifications (for example: Lifeguard Training, WSI, WFR, WAFA, CPR, etc…). We are looking for Activity Specialists/Head Specialists that are not only passionate about and creative in their activity area but who also have the ability to teach and develop the campers’ skills in that area. Activity Specialists/Head Specialists also work to create skill building lessons, challenging tournaments or performances, and general excitement in their activity area. When not in their activity area, Activity Specialists/Head Specialists other responsibility is to rejoin their group to be part of meals, special events, and bunk activities. Activity Specialists/Head Specialists get the benefit of working in an activity area that they love, seeing the campers develop skills in that area, and get to be part of a group or campers and staff in the bunks. Each activity area has 1 Head Specialist and depending on the activity, anywhere from 0 to 10 Activity Specialists. Although the Head Specialist functions much like an Activity Specialist, they are hired for their leadership, supervisory, and group management skills in that activity area. Head Specialists are typically 21 years or older and have the wonderful and demanding role of setting the tone for their activity, supervising the level of skill building, lessons, and teams/performances in their area, and acting as the administrative link between their activity area and the camp leadership staff. In order for camp to function completely it is very important for us to have a dedicated and responsible Support Staff to be part of the camp community. Echo Lake has many positions for Support Staff in the areas of: Food Service, Health Center, Maintenance, Office Administration, Transportation, and Housekeeping. All Support Staff have the opportunity to contribute to the camp community and be part of the fun! Specific Activity Areas at Camp Include: Archery, Aerobics, Baseball, Basketball, Biking, Boating, Caving, Canoeing, Ceramics/Pottery, Dance (hip hop, ballet, jazz, tap, modern), Fine Arts (drawing, painting, etc…), Fitness, Golf, Gymnastics, Hiking, Hockey, Jewelry Making, Kayaking, Lacrosse, Lifeguarding, Mountain Biking, Music (Theatrical accompaniment and writing/recording), Newspaper, Photography (Digital and Traditional Darkroom), Radio, Rock Climbing, Rollerblading, Rollerhockey, Ropes Course, Sailing, Soccer, Softball, Swim Instruction, Tennis, Theatre, Trek-Outdoor Education, Video, Volleyball, Water-skiing, Website, Wood Working, Yearbook, Yoga/Pilates, etc… Internship/Academic Credit: We offer the opportunity for our staff to obtain academic credits for their efforts provided their college, university or graduate program will sanction this. We would be pleased to provide the necessary documentation and to coordinate to enable our staff to fulfill academic requirements provided that the employee initiates this with their school and coordinates with us prior to starting at camp. It is our experience that different schools establish different standards and we will be happy to assist you in fulfilling these on an individual basis. Please contact us as well if we can be helpful with expanding your summer work into an official internship experience recognized by your school.