Working at BLC

Happy Counselors Make For Happy Campers

BLC COUNSELORS

We hire between 100-120 counselors each summer, with around half returning and half working with us for the first time. Around 30 will be members of our Key Staff – meaning they are over 25 years old and have been at Brant Lake Camp for multiple summers. These people are in charge of various aspects of camp life and serve as mentors to first year counselors. Typically, we have around 70 counselors that are university students from the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. Our gender breakdown is around 75% male to 25% female, however, Brant Lake Dance Camp (BLDC) and Brant Lake Sports Academy (BLSA) run concurrently with our boys’ program and offer additional employment opportunities for female counselors.

Summer camp counselor with kids

We want counselors who:

  • Enjoy spending time and having fun with kids
  • Are good human beings
  • Are great role models

Everything else is secondary. A boy’s summer will be fundamentally influenced by counselors who embody the characteristics above, build strong relationships with their campers, and provide positive feedback.

Our counselors are screened and selected from many applicants on the basis of integrity, character, reliability, warmth, personality, and a sincere desire to work with kids. Many have special skills and are excellent coaches and teachers — but their primary responsibility is to spend quality time with kids.

While most camps hire counselors as either Specialists (i.e.- basketball, soccer or baseball instructor, etc.) or General counselors, we believe they are missing a critical opportunity. For this reason we consider the vast majority of our counselors to be General counselors, with very few exceptions.

Counselors have three main responsibilities:

  1. Their first responsibility is to the boys in their bunk. 
  2. Secondly, to the boys in their division (Juniors, Inters or Seniors). 
  3. Thirdly, but still importantly, to the activity in which he or she can best be helpful to our  campers and daily program. 

Very few of our counselors will teach the same activity for more than half of their day (common exceptions are some tennis pros or waterfront staff). This helps keep counselors fresh in their areas of expertise and allows them to focus on the individual needs of their campers: spending time with them throughout the day and playing the role of “big brother” or “big sister.”

LIVING IN A BUNK

Two counselors are assigned to each bunk, often one from the USA and one international. Bunks for younger campers may have 3 counselors assigned, with at least one of these counselors being female. Staff members are responsible for camper supervision. This includes encouraging healthy relationships and guiding campers to develop good personal health habits. The counselor’s involvement with the children in the bunk is the most important aspect of the job.

ACTIVITIES

Activity assignments are made according to skill and interest. 

Most counselors can expect:

  • 4 hours per day in their strongest activity area 
  • 2 hours in a secondary area 
  • 1 hour in an activity of lesser experience 
  • 1 hour of supervision and camper interaction at the waterfront 
  • plus time interacting and supervising campers during less formal activities

WHAT IT TAKES

What qualities do we look for when selecting BLC Counselors?

INTEREST IN PEOPLE
Are you interested in people? Do you generally like most people that you meet?  Are you interested in meeting people from other countries and backgrounds? Do you enjoy working with children and young adults?
A ZEST FOR LIFE
Do you enjoy life? Are you the type of person who can let yourself go and enjoy having fun and being silly with kids?  Are you willing to try new things and learn new skills?
POSITIVE ROLE MODELS
Everything you do at camp is important because it affects our campers. The campers will look up to you and follow your lead. This is a huge responsibility. We need young people who can serve as positive role models for the children in their care – people who are honest and demonstrate a sense of integrity.
ENERGY AND A POSITIVE OUTLOOK
Working with children is a demanding task. It can also be massively rewarding. There will be many good days, but there will also be some frustrations along the way. We are looking for people who can remain calm and positive and get the best out of themselves and those around them.
A SENSE OF HUMOR
Any time you are working with children it is best to expect the unexpected as there will doubtless be surprises during the day. A good sense of humor is a valuable asset.
FLEXIBILITY AND RELIABILITY
Because we adapt our program daily to accommodate the needs of campers, no two days at Brant Lake will be exactly the same. Our camp mantra is that we are “Quick and Nimble.” Our unique approach to the needs of the individual camper demands flexibility and fluency. Counselors must also be flexible enough to adapt to daily changes and on occasions, changes at short notice.
PERSISTENCE
At times, your job may require you to give some direction to campers which may not initially be warmly received e.g., “It’s time to clean up” or “It’s time to go to bed.” If a camper or a group of campers does not respond positively to your suggestion, you will need to remain calm and persistent and, perhaps, ask for assistance from Key Staff if needed.
EXPERTISE
If you have expertise in a particular area – sports, art, drama, music etc. – and look forward to sharing this expertise with others, BLC offers a great opportunity for you to develop and share your skills. Our Key staff, with years of teaching and coaching experience, are uniquely placed to help develop your skills further.
AWARENESS of THE PRIVILEGE & RESPONSIBILITY OF WORKING WITH CHILDREN
Camp life is a lot of fun. At the same time we can never forget what a huge responsibility and privilege it is to work with children. We are shaping young lives. This is a responsibility which can never be forgotten or taken lightly.
GOOD TEAM PLAYERS
As a BLC counselor you will be part of a team. Everything we do at camp is designed to give each individual camper the best summer possible. Our goal is for each camper to return home after camp HEALTHY and HAPPY, having made new friends, enjoyed new experiences, increased their self-confidence and gained both athletic and social skills. This camp experience is very much a team effort.