From Camper to Counselor: One LT's Full Circle Journey

PEAK is proud to have been operating long enough that it now employs several alumni on our annual team. However, that doesn’t capture the full extent of campers we have returning to PEAK as adults. Many of our seasonal counselors are alumni who wish to give back to LVC, a camp that means so much to them. For instance, Jamaria Smith, also known as Jam, graduated from the Leaders in Training program in the Spring of 2023. Last summer, she joined as Lake Valley Camp’s Outdoor Living Skills Counselor and has demonstrated why PEAK believes in cultivating a space where our young people choose to return year after year. 

Jamaria joined PEAK when she was in fifth grade and was looking for something to keep her busy over the summer. She quickly came to enjoy PEAK programming, especially going out to camp. To Jam, it was a positive environment. “You can be yourself without having to censor it to anybody else,” she explained. It was with Lake Valley Camp that she came to enjoy outdoor living skills, as well as learn about the Leaders in Training program. Becoming an LT opened up more opportunities for her to build new skill sets that she would later use as a counselor. “They prepare you for really any job, whether it is with PEAK or not... the main lesson is how to work with and for other people." 

For Jamaria, staying connected to PEAK was an easy choice, and she recalled signing up to be a counselor the night that she graduated from the LT program. PEAK hired Jamaria as a Day Camp counselor in Milwaukee, where she got her first taste of working with young people. The Teen and Community team really saw her grow in the role. "She was really able to step into that role of being a program counselor, of leading for the kids but also mentoring LTs in this program,” said Liz Sandmire, Teen and Community Coordinator. Jamaria learned a lot, but it was the Summer of 2024 where she really shined as the Outdoor Living Skills Counselor. 

In 2024, Jamaria worked not only as the Outdoor Living Skills instructor, but she was also the counselor for Mecon, our cabin for 7th and 8th grade girls. Typically, such a close age gap would be hard to manage, but Jamaria’s skills were quickly noticed by Lucero Serna, Assistant Director of Camp Programs. "I was super impressed with her ability to develop relationships with young people,” Lucero said, “She was able to have really hard conversations with them and have them end in a positive place." For being such a recent graduate, Jamaria empathized with her campers naturally. “Younger people in general, they don't get listened to, and even if they do, they aren't being heard,” Jamaria explained. For her, listening to what the campers were saying and giving them space to have a voice was key to being a counselor.

This was apparent in Jamaria’s approach to program flexibility and camper choice. "I feel like it's all about expectations, I'm not going to expect a 14 year old to have the same maturity that I have... you learn how to tailor things to the different ages and to the campers themselves. It's all about compromising with them,” she said. Jamaria demonstrated this during LVC’s Voyager expeditions, where the older campers go backpacking for one night. During the second session, she saw her Mecon cabin really struggle with the experience, and Jamaria realized that was partly because the campers weren’t given agency. It was then that she approached Lucero about how to change it for the next session. 

For session three, Jamaria and Lucero drastically changed their approach to the expedition. First, they asked both the boys and girls oldest cabins if they wanted to keep the trip separate, or if they would want to team up and all go together. Second, they asked both cabins if they wanted to take the long hike up to ‘The Ridge,’ or if they would prefer a much shorter, closer hike. To Jamaria’s surprise, they eagerly decided to go together, as well as on the harder expedition. The larger group hiked up together the next day and listened to music, watched the sunset, and held a tent-building competition. For Jamaria, this expedition was by far the most successful of the summer. 

Jamaria’s energy, adaptability, and empathy created a brand new experience for the campers. While she still feels like she has more to learn about being a counselor, it’s clear to those around her that she has an innate ability to connect with young people, and that she understands what it means to be an exemplary camp counselor. To Jamaria, she is just leaning into her experience in this new role, and she hopes to pass that down to the new campers. Jam describes her favorite part of being a counselor as, “Watching them fall in love with camp the same way I did... knowing that one day they are going to take my spot, and they are going to create the same experiences." For Jamaria, she is glad to be a part of that legacy and is excited to see those traditions passed down.