What does it mean to be an Echo Lake Staff Person? Are you looking for the summer experience of a lifetime? If so, then joining the amazing, dynamic, energetic, compassionate Camp Echo Lake staff, who are dedicated to human development, may be right for you! If you are passionate about working with children and excited to be working in an incredible camp setting, then Camp Echo Lake may be right for you! If you are looking to work in an environment that is challenging and demanding, exhausting and intense, but some of the most fun and most rewarding experiences you will ever have, then Camp Echo Lake may be right for you! Echo Lake staff comes from a wide range of life experiences and demographics, but all have the desire to work with children at camp! Echo Lake typically hires around 220 staff to work with our 400, 7 to 16 year old, male and female campers. Our staff comes to camp from across the United States and all around the world. Last years staff came from 34 different states in the USA and 13 different countries around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and many more! Our staff love being part of our camp family and can’t get enough of Echo Lake, in fact each year about 40-50% of our staff are returning to camp from the previous summer. In addition to our staff veterans, every year we look forward to finding the many amazing new staff that comes to camp bringing fresh energy, perspective, and ideas! While our staff must have at least completed a year of college (or be the equivalent age), our mature staff (with an average age of 22) are made up of college and graduate students, teachers, and other childcare and athletic professionals. All of our staff have an impact of the lives of children and have their own lives influences by the campers, staff, and the camp experience. At Echo Lake, we know that the hiring process is a two way street! Yes, we are looking for the best and brightest staff possible, but we are also looking to find staff who are going to look at what Echo Lake has to offer and get the most out of the experience. We want Echo Lake to be the “best fit” for both our staff and for our camp. Each year we receive approximately 25 new staff applications for every 1 female staff spot and 10 new staff applications for every 1 male staff spot. Each staff person completes an in-depth and personal application and interview process and submits quality references in order to be considered for a position at camp. All staff members participate in a seven to fourteen day orientation (length depending on the position hired for) prior to the campers’ arrival. Staff orientation is a wonderful opportunity for staff to “play camp,” understand our philosophy and program, get to know each other, and feel comfortable at camp before the campers arrive. By the time camp begins for the campers, our staff, both diverse in background and experience with a wide range of interests and personalities, has come together as a community dedicated to the human development our campers. Despite many differences in individual staff, each staff member is at camp to give 100% effort to the needs of the campers and the camp program. Once the campers arrive, camp is in full swing for campers and staff, and that’s when the fun really begins! If you are looking for a quiet, "laid back" summer environment, you have probably chosen the wrong place. Being a counselor at Echo Lake is a demanding job. You live, work, eat, sleep, teach, play, and have fun with kids and your co-staff. One thing our staff knows is that the more you put into the experience, the more rewards you are going to get out of it! The summer season runs nine weeks total, from mid-June to mid-August, which includes our orientation. Since our staff are the key ingredients to a successful summer and happy campers, we will do a lot to make sure your needs are being met and to ensure that you have plenty of time to recharge your batteries. Echo Lake offers its campers and staff many opportunities to feel good about themselves. Whether you love land sports, theatre arts, water sports or outdoor adventure, we think that’s great! Whether you are highly skilled in an activity, or just learning, we celebrate every camper and every staff for whatever level they are at. Campers and staff leave Echo Lake feeling good about themselves and having had the valuable experience of being part of an amazing group in a wonderful camp. Staff are expected to give 110% to camp and are often quoted as saying, "the challenges of working at Echo Lake are big, but the rewards of working at Echo Lake are tremendous…Echo Lake truly IS the summer experience of a lifetime!"