One thing that all Worthington Schools students look forward to upon entering middle school is sixth grade camp. A tradition where the sixth grade class goes attends a two-day camp; practicing things like wilderness skills, team building skills, the practice of having to come out of your comfort zone. Covid-19 had an effect on the whole world in countless different ways, but when it comes to the class of 2027, they missed out on this beloved tradition that most kids in Worthington get to look forward to, and having the opportunity to attend camp in high school as counselors took the group back to the Covid-times when we were missing out on all the traditions, like 6th grade camp, due to the pandemic.
For many 6th grade students, these are their first experiences away from parents and their first time having to spend entire days with classmates so closely. As high school counselors we were given the opportunity to keep the calm and fun alive amongst the kids while they share these experiences. For many students who return to camp years later in the counselor role the choice is based on how well the experience went for them when they went to sixth grade camp. But for me and numerous other Juniors we experienced this for the first time this week just like the sixth graders. Nonetheless, we were happy to volunteer our time.
During the pandemic it seemed like such a privilege to stay home from school, but as eleven-year-olds it didn’t click for us that we were missing out on these things. Veronica Zabalaa, a 2025 camp counselor, emphasized, “I feel like to everyone Covid was fun at first, getting to be at home and having vacations. It was definitely fun to be at home with my family.” But she later goes on to share the frustration she had not being able to go to camp as the pandemic was rising.
During camp the counselors got the chance to do various activities like Big swing, High Ropes course, Canoeing, survival class, axe throwing and so much more alongside the children. The environment at camp fostered close connection between the counselors and the campers and between the counselors themselves. Veronica also shared, “We got to know the kids and their interests it was easy to see them like brothers and sisters.”
We had no expectations coming in, which Caroline Campbell affirmed, sharing, “There were definitely some stressful moments involving throwing up, heated arguments, and late nights.” She later went on to say, “Some of the campers were extremely sweet and kind, others were very disrespectful. I was so grateful to have such great co-counselors.” Isabel Chen told us, “Something that was unexpectedly hard was the amount of kids that would just start crying as their reaction to anything that went wrong. We were able to deal with it and have fun with them though.”
We had so much fun at camp and there was not one class of 2027 counselor who said they would not come back. Caroline Campbell promised, “I will definitely be signing up as a camp counselor again! Seeing the kids enjoy themselves was such a rewarding experience. Though it definitely had its lows, I think going back there with even greater knowledge and more experience will be the key to having an even better time!” Sadie Peterson had a similar response, “I would love to be a camp counselor again because of all the long lasting memories I made. All the other camp counselors helped make this experience so amazing for me and I want to experience it all again.”
Having the full circle experience is traditionally a big part of the allure of coming back as a counselor, which begs the question, Did the lack of that full circle experience end up effecting our counseling experience? Mrs. Hill, a science teacher at Perry middle school and main supervisor of 6th grade camp, told The Ravine, “I’m excited that Perry was lucky to have such a dedicated group of counselors, who worked hard at making this week a great experience for the sixth grade campers, as well as each other.” So for me the answer to that question is absolutely not. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to give back to my community, and to have grown up in a school district where we can give young kids this opportunity. So huge thank you to Perry staff, Mrs. Hill, Mrs Reik, and Mrs Robertson for making this all possible.
