By MELISSA POLLACK
With just a few days of classes remaining, many high school juniors and seniors are scrambling to find meaningful summer experiences. From internships to camp counselor jobs, teenagers gain experience and learn valuable skills like responsibility, maturity, and dedication.
Summer campers and counselors form long-lasting bonds and memories that many remember as the best times of their lives. Senior Katherine N. worked as a counselor at a day camp over the summer of 2015. She said, “Being a camp counselor requires hard work, devotion, and an extrinsic personality. I definitely learned responsibility from this job because you’re always accountable for children and you have to make sure they’re enjoying themselves; that they’re getting along with everyone, and that you know where they are at all times.” A child’s experience at camp all depends on how well their counselor does their job. Senior Olivia S. also worked as a counselor at Miss Sue’s Day Camp. She felt that she learned maturity and responsibility when dealing with little children. She said, “I really liked that I had such a positive influence on my campers’ lives at a young age because they were only two years old, so I was able to build a foundation of happy memories.”
Many teenagers find internships as very valuable ways to gain experience to help them in the future. Senior Rachel H. has first-hand experience with the Anton Media Group, a Long Island media company that publishes many community newspapers. She said, “I learned that the only way you are going to become good at something in the field you’re looking to work in is by getting raw experience. The exposure I gained working at the Anton Media Group last year is stuff you just can’t learn in the classroom. I learned what a true deadline feels like. Especially in print, you have to have an article finished by a certain date.”
Summer experiences can provide significant means for growth and educational enrichment. School social worker Mr. Benjamin said, “I think it helps balance who they are as people so that they’re just not learning in an educational environment but they are also experiencing life in a real way and also learning the value of money and hard work.”
