Never before has WriCampia had so many counselors returning after being campers. This summer, 2026 sets the record with 33% of staff who were once WriCampians.
In the weeks leading up to camp, my phone was buzzing with texts from the group chat with my friends who graduated from WriCampia in 2024. Just two years ago, we were campers hanging out together on the arts porch and playing Hot Laptop in the Paint Room of the old WBY. Now, they were talking excitedly about returning to camp as counselors for the first time, asking questions about the interview process and the various webinars.
There was never a doubt in their minds that they’d come back.
“The first year I came to camp I knew [I’d return],” counselor Moon E. said. “My bunk counselors Maya and Ibby were both 19, their first year back as counselors, and they inspired me [to be a counselor, too].”
Counselor Arden D. shared that camp was the place where they really grew into themselves, and they wanted to “allow it to remain the space that helped us.”
Madeleine F., sitting next to Arden on the Arts Center porch, recalled memories of their middle camp bunk counselor Amelia, whose influence still leaves a lasting impact on them today. “I just remember she was so cool and so expressive,” Madeleine said. She adds that Amelia showed her “camp is a place to try things and see how they feel,” qualities that she now embraces as a counselor, experimenting with her own outfits and fashion styles while inspiring others to do the same.
For all members of the WriCampia class of 2024, 2026 is their first year back at camp as counselors.
But returning to camp wearing the new hat of “counselor” takes some adjustment. As a counselor, Moon explained, “You’re always on the clock. You’re not just here for your friends but for a lot of others who look up to you,” she said. Moon also admitted that she now understands what the counselors went through when she was a camper. “I know I gave my counselors a hard time,” she laughed.
Tara W., who is another camper-turned-counselor supporting Arts Track with Moon, added, “I didn’t realize how hectic it can get. Even today after the kids came into the arts center without counselors during Waterfront, it was such a mess, [and we had to] reorganize all the supplies.”
Additionally, several of these first-year counselors discussed the challenge of finding a balance between personally relating to and having fun with campers while also acting as the adult figure. “At the dance,” Madeleine said, “I wanted to have fun and get lit, but then I remembered this is not about me. This is their chance to get lit, not mine.”
Across all counselors, there was unanimous agreement that maintaining authority when there is such a small age difference with older campers is challenging, though it’s helpful that WriCampia requires them to wait one year before returning as counselors. “It was definitely hard not coming back [for a year],” counselor Ella D. said. A camper for nine years, Ella is now spending her second summer as a WriCampia counselor. But looking back, she agrees that it would be strange to be suddenly in charge of her best friends.
Having a year before returning to camp also offers the chance to apply the skills and values they developed at camp in the real world, specifically when beginning college. Counselor Jun L., who returned this year after 6 years as a camper, shared how camp taught him to embrace “spontaneity,” whether that be approaching new people, jumping into new activities in the moment, or having conversations with people who are both so similar and different from him. “I treated college like coming to camp,” Jun said, “and [by doing so] I made so many friends just going up to people.” Moon shared similar sentiments. “[At Wricampia] I became very confident in my craft and spoke up about politics because I felt so comfortable,” she said, adding that those skills followed her into college.
Despite the challenges of transitioning to a new role, managing jam-packed schedules, and staying up with homesick campers, becoming a counselor at the place that feels like a second home brings immense rewards.
Counselor Ella Goodman, another member of the WriCampia class of 2024, shared that the most special part “is when my bunk kids sing my shower song.” She laughed and proceeded to explain that during her first year as a camper, she made up a song about shower hour that she and her bunk would sing. This summer, on one of the first nights of camp, she performed it for her bunk of middle campers. “I thought it was gonna be a one time thing, but now they sing it all the time,” Ella smiled.
For both Madeleine and Moon, the reward comes in seeing kids open up and use their voices, especially when they are part of initiating that conversation. As counselors, WriCampia isn’t just about bonding with peers and creating lasting memories for themselves but rather preserving the community and camp traditions that make this place so special.
For current CITs or campers who are considering becoming a CIT, Jun offers some advice. “Don’t try to be nonchalant or not care,” he said. “[You should] encourage [your campers] to branch out, and you’ll have to embarrass yourself to do that. If they laugh at you… like when my CIT kids were insulting me, I just knew that we’re bonding right now… it meant they felt comfortable enough around me to say that.”
