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Working at camp trumps making money
By Mariel Cruz
Freelance Writer
“What are you gonna do this summer?”
A daunting question, as most students feel the pressure to find a job to pay next year’s bills and tuition. Among the crowd of job seekers, however, certain students stand out for their more unconventional approach to the summer months.
For sophomore Dan Morrow, summers are used for gaining “lots of experience and better foundation in God. I continue to become a better person and would hate to spend a summer not in some ministry.”
This summer will be Morrow’s fourth year working at a summer camp, where he does kitchen camp counselor duties.
Some may wonder how college students like Morrow get along without a conventional job in the summer, when money is so tight during the year.
“It’s hard giving up a summer job,” Morrow said. “Money does matter to me, but when God pushes you to do something, you can’t say, ‘No.’ God says, ‘I got you. Get what you can; I’ll take care of the rest.’”
Indeed, Morrow sees other rewards for doing summer camp work besides the pay.
“Being used of God is one of the best feelings in the world,” he said after describing a summer when kids committed their lives to Christ. “Knowing that you are a part of that is priceless.”
Although Morrow does not believe camp counseling is for everybody – “Don’t just do a job for the money. God needs people to be everywhere.” – he suggests praying about summer plans before going ahead with them.
Another Corban student who prizes the chance to serve kids is senior Naomi Talty, who has worked at day and adventure camps as a counselor. She’ll be doing it again this summer.
“To go to camp and experience touching a kid’s life forever is worth more than you could make in a lifetime. It could have been really easy for me to go home and live with Mom and work a really boring job all summer, but what fun is that?” Talty said.
Junior Alexis Berdeaux has played the role of leader as well as regular staff on Corban’s camp teams. When thinking about the things she liked best about those roles, Berdeaux emphasized her campers and the chance to show them Christ’s love and their eternal value. She’s led campers to Christ and still keeps in contact with several of them. An added bonus is the friendship she established with her teammates.
This will be Berdeaux’s fourth summer working as a camp counselor and her third summer working for camp full-time. Camp team members receive a scholarship, a $10 stipend, and free lodging, gas and food.
“If you look at what I gained, I missed out on math figures,” Berdeaux said, “but I got the best part of the deal for the kingdom of God. It’s my favorite, most worthwhile job.”
