Is it too soon to say...
perfect?
I feel fortunate to have obtained a new and exciting high adventure position for a regionally well renowned camp in Oregonia, Ohio, called Camp Kern. I am currently working as a leadership coordinator for the leadership department, doing high and low ropes activities for various groups working on their character building, teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills. It has been a pleasure working with various age groups, and being a part of their individual challenges and personal growth. The opportunity has already given me extreme insight on some of my own personal development, and has been a significant aid in some well-accepted soul searching, as well. Never before have I been confident in saying that I love my job, I love the people I work with, and I am extremely happy to have found a place back home that gives me the inner stability I need to have a powerful purpose among the development of so many unique individuals.
In the past few weeks that I have been affiliated with the camp, I have gained a plethora of useful training and an advantageous understanding of the inner workings of camp mechanics. My first week composing of a boy scout-style introduction--learning various safety knots like the compression knot to the safety 8, playing on the numerous climbing elements, zip lining, belaying my co-workers, and shadowing certain activities. I have since been trained on all elements and activities, except for rappelling from Pete's Tower that overlooks the vast Little Miami Valley. Some of the elements I get to play on and facilitate throughout the week are the Double X Tango Tower (9 different climbing elements like climbing walls, The Centipede, Vertebrate, Rope X, Cowboy Up, the Indiana Jones), the Giant Swing, Zip Line, Vertical Maze, Pine High Ropes, and the Mine Shaft. Each activity comes with equipment set-up and dismantle in precise fashion, and strict safety guidelines for all guest participants. Every participant always walks away with an individual sense of accomplishment and joy, and it makes the experience truly rewarding.
We also do our own version of the Amazing Race, which incorporates many of the various elements listed above, plus puzzles, canoe races, and, of course, intense competition. Currently we are working on a partnership with King's Island to increase Camp Kern's Amazing Race at a much larger scale. We are also currently working with Lucasfilm, who contacted Camp Kern with a cool idea in creating our own Star Wars camp game/battle (The Clone Wars) between different "cabin galaxies". Stay tuned, for Lucasfilms will soon be posting information on their website about the fiasco, and coming for a camp visit for a walk-through with our directors to get the ball moving. We've also requested, and received the go on creating an Indiana Jones-themed adventure course, as well. There really is some exciting stuff going on here at camp!
As much as I love working with the high adventure courses, it is actually not the initial job that I was hired for. In a couple of weeks I will begin my official training for the largest zip line tour in all of the Midwest, the Ozone. Scheduled to open this past Memorial Day weekend, construction has been slower than expected, and first tours are expected to be up and running by June 22 (though I am hearing July 1). The online reservation window is now currently open for your convenience. The zipline tour will be approximately 2 miles long, at the duration of 2 1/2 hours. The tour consists of several platforms, with the longest distance of 2,600' spanning the Miami Valley, and Little Miami River into Fort Ancient territory. It is going to be incredibly awesome and I can't wait to get to zipping every day! In the meantime, I am having a wonderful time playing with the leadership team, and am grateful for the chance to have such a beneficial opportunity pre-Ozone.
I feel fortunate to have obtained a new and exciting high adventure position for a regionally well renowned camp in Oregonia, Ohio, called Camp Kern. I am currently working as a leadership coordinator for the leadership department, doing high and low ropes activities for various groups working on their character building, teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills. It has been a pleasure working with various age groups, and being a part of their individual challenges and personal growth. The opportunity has already given me extreme insight on some of my own personal development, and has been a significant aid in some well-accepted soul searching, as well. Never before have I been confident in saying that I love my job, I love the people I work with, and I am extremely happy to have found a place back home that gives me the inner stability I need to have a powerful purpose among the development of so many unique individuals.
In the past few weeks that I have been affiliated with the camp, I have gained a plethora of useful training and an advantageous understanding of the inner workings of camp mechanics. My first week composing of a boy scout-style introduction--learning various safety knots like the compression knot to the safety 8, playing on the numerous climbing elements, zip lining, belaying my co-workers, and shadowing certain activities. I have since been trained on all elements and activities, except for rappelling from Pete's Tower that overlooks the vast Little Miami Valley. Some of the elements I get to play on and facilitate throughout the week are the Double X Tango Tower (9 different climbing elements like climbing walls, The Centipede, Vertebrate, Rope X, Cowboy Up, the Indiana Jones), the Giant Swing, Zip Line, Vertical Maze, Pine High Ropes, and the Mine Shaft. Each activity comes with equipment set-up and dismantle in precise fashion, and strict safety guidelines for all guest participants. Every participant always walks away with an individual sense of accomplishment and joy, and it makes the experience truly rewarding.
We also do our own version of the Amazing Race, which incorporates many of the various elements listed above, plus puzzles, canoe races, and, of course, intense competition. Currently we are working on a partnership with King's Island to increase Camp Kern's Amazing Race at a much larger scale. We are also currently working with Lucasfilm, who contacted Camp Kern with a cool idea in creating our own Star Wars camp game/battle (The Clone Wars) between different "cabin galaxies". Stay tuned, for Lucasfilms will soon be posting information on their website about the fiasco, and coming for a camp visit for a walk-through with our directors to get the ball moving. We've also requested, and received the go on creating an Indiana Jones-themed adventure course, as well. There really is some exciting stuff going on here at camp!
As much as I love working with the high adventure courses, it is actually not the initial job that I was hired for. In a couple of weeks I will begin my official training for the largest zip line tour in all of the Midwest, the Ozone. Scheduled to open this past Memorial Day weekend, construction has been slower than expected, and first tours are expected to be up and running by June 22 (though I am hearing July 1). The online reservation window is now currently open for your convenience. The zipline tour will be approximately 2 miles long, at the duration of 2 1/2 hours. The tour consists of several platforms, with the longest distance of 2,600' spanning the Miami Valley, and Little Miami River into Fort Ancient territory. It is going to be incredibly awesome and I can't wait to get to zipping every day! In the meantime, I am having a wonderful time playing with the leadership team, and am grateful for the chance to have such a beneficial opportunity pre-Ozone.
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