Category: Category 1
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How AI Will Reshape Summer Camps Not long from now—five years, maybe less—the way summer camps interact with data will change entirely. If you want a glimpse into that future, don’t look at your current camp database, with its clunky search bar tucked in the upper right corner. Look instead at a chat box. Simple.…
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In 2023, a parent tried to tell a summer camp that their child wouldn’t be riding the bus home. The message—polite, brief—was sent via text. Not to the camp office. Not to the transportation director. But to the seasonal bus counselor. A 19-year-old with a cracked iPhone and spotty LTE coverage, who wouldn’t see the…
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In 2009, a teenager could take a photo on their phone, upload it to Facebook, and within seconds, the platform would ask, “Is this Sarah?” Facial recognition had arrived. That same year, at summer camps across the country, counselors were still printing attendance sheets from Excel and using whiteboards to track bunk assignments. The gulf…
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At many summer camps across the country, nestled among the lost water bottles, sunscreen smears, and whiffs of bug spray, lies a persistent, quiet dysfunction—until it isn’t quiet anymore. It begins innocently. A walkie talkie crackles to life on the hip of a counselor. It’s strapped securely to a belt or dangling from a lanyard,…
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Paulette had worked in camps for over a decade, and one thing always stuck with her: the most important parts of camp were often the ones no one saw. Not the campfires or the color wars—but the invisible pieces holding it all together. Most people thought the camper was the center of everything. And in…
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As I reflect on my journey through various professional and volunteer experiences, one chapter stands out vividly: my time with the Westchester Band. This was a significant part of my life, one that intertwined family legacy, personal growth, and a deep love for music. **A Legacy Begins** The story of my involvement with the Westchester…
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One of the most impactful innovations I introduced at a children’s organization was the color-coding of bus parking sections. This idea emerged in 2013 when I first joined the transportation department. At the time, I was working alongside the camp’s owner, who had been running operations for over 40 years. He tasked me with organizing…
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In 2016, I encountered a logistical problem in the staff office at a children’s organization, and I knew something needed to change. The staff was working in cramped quarters with limited space for managing all the daily communication, and the existing system for distributing and organizing written notes was far from efficient. At the heart…
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One of the major transportation projects I took on was organizing the school’s transportation system, which was still relatively new—only about three or four years old when I joined. In just three years, I went from being a participant in the process to assisting in brainstorming ideas, and eventually running the entire operation. The system…
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The journey I’m about to share is one of the most exciting chapters of my life, marked by perseverance and innovation. It all began in 2020 when COVID-19 hit. Facing a pay cut from my full-time job, I realized I needed to find an additional source of income. That’s when I decided to explore my…