By Becci Jacobs
I know what you’re thinking: “That’s not how it goes, Becci. The phrase is, ‘Everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten,’” but, if I’m being honest, I have to disagree. Kindergarten was confined to one year, but the impact that Jacobs Camp and NFTY Southern have had on my life evolved with me over many years, through childhood, adolescence, and now as a young professional. Soon, I will be embarking on a new journey as I start graduate school to pursue a Masters in Social Work degree. In preparing for this transition, I’ve reflected on my time growing up alongside Jacobs Camp and NFTY Southern, and it is clear to me that I’ve learned far more from this community than any other in my life.
To make my case, let me share a few of my favorite lessons from our incredible community:
1. Don’t Yuck Someone Else’s Yum.
When interviewing new staff for camp positions, I always ask, “if you had to pick one lesson or value to teach your campers this summer, what would it be?’” I find this question to be helpful in getting to know prospective counselors and understanding the impact they want to have. My answer to that question is no-doubt don’t yuck someone else’s yum. This mantra, which I’ve promoted to countless campers and staff over the years, epitomizes what camp is all about: celebrating our unique identities, and doing it in a fun, silly, kid-friendly way. Camp is the first place I began to understand tolerance, respect, and appreciation for diversity – a lesson I learned after giving a bunkmate a hard time for putting ranch dressing on her pizza (turns out, ranch dressing is kind of delicious on camp pizza). While my counselors at the time probably thought they were simply teaching us how to get along better, they actually taught me an important lesson that will remain with me as I embark on the next phase of my career.
2. L’dor V’dor is more than a pretty song we sing on Shabbat.
After attending my first NFTY events, it was safe to say I drank the kool-aid. I jumped at every chance to get involved – I never missed a regional event, I ran for a local board position, and I took my job as Regional Spirit Chair very seriously. At Winter Kallah of my sophomore year, a then-regional board member approached me about being her successor. “Me?!” I thought; “No way, I’m not good enough to be on regional board.” After we discussed it more, I agreed to attend an interest meeting, thinking that would get her off my back. That conversation, however, helped me realize that others saw me differently than I saw myself – as someone capable of leadership. I decided to run for board, and the next year I was elected as NFTY Southern’s President. Fast forward seven years, here I am concluding my role as NFTY Southern Regional Advisor – a position I might have never considered applying for if it weren’t for that regional board member encouraging me to find my voice as a leader in the region. NFTY Southern has taught me how important it is to think about what comes after us and the impact we can have in shaping the future of a community, even after we leave it.
Becci (right) pictured upon returning home from Olim with former HSJ campers Emily and Sami Rosenthal in 2000
3. Change is scary, but there’s always something to learn from it.
As a camper, I had a reoccurring nightmare about arriving to camp on opening day and finding out my best camp friends had decided to switch sessions or take a summer off. This fear never became my reality, and my childhood self was always so relieved to see their names on my cabin sign upon arrival. In my years on staff, however, I saw variations of this situation unfold. I remember one summer in particular, when a handful of campers in one group of friends decided to take a school trip rather than return to camp. As their remaining friends debated whether they should come back, I empathized with their fears that camp “wouldn’t be the same” without them. However, after watching one brave camper embrace her new friends and bunkmates (and later tell me it was her favorite summer ever), I was able to see how much she grew from experiencing camp in a new way. Summers later, when most of my camp friends decided not to return for another summer on staff, I felt those same anxieties from my childhood return. I remembered this camper and how the best experience she had at camp was the one she was most nervous for, and I followed her lead. I’m grateful that I chose to return to camp that summer, as I learned and grew from the new experience and began to love camp in a different way.
4. Be a rolling table.
To any of our staff from Summer 2016, this one will sound familiar. In the fall leading up to that summer, I took a tour of an incredible all-girls school in Memphis with Adam, Anna, Nadav, and the Assistant Principle, who happens to be a Jacobs Camp alum and proud NFTY Southern parent. We saw their Makers Space, a set of lab-style classrooms where students in pre-school through 12th grade spent time exploring with their hands, such as building and programming robots to pick up trash. While the content of this program was impressive on its own, I was most captivated by the design of the classrooms. One teacher pointed out that every table had wheels – it’s important for the room to evolve to match each group of students’ projects and personalities. I took this metaphor back to camp last summer, and it became my motto among our staff. At camp, no day unfolds exactly as we expect, and it’s crucial that we as staff are flexible and able to adapt to the new challenges and scenarios that emerge. My years at Camp and with NFTY Southern have undoubtedly taught me the importance of being a rolling table – to expect the unexpected and be prepared for curve-balls. I feel ready to take on my next chapter because I know how to be a rolling table, and I have our community to thank for that.
5. Don’t forget to have fun.
This one may seem obvious, but it’s something I am reminded of regularly with Camp and NFTY. Some days are spent reviewing budgets and answering emails; other days involve intense debates around snow-cone flavors, bounce house rentals, and dressing up as a Ferris Bueller character for almost 1000 teens. I’m lucky that the work I do on a daily basis often doesn’t feel always feel like “work,” and my time as Assistant Director and Regional Advisor has taught me to seek out these moments every chance I get. I know my future jobs likely won’t involve throwing a manicure party for 15 Gariners or dramatically acting when caught “kidnapping” our NFTY Southern mascots, but these moments have taught me to seek out the silly whenever the chance arises. I’m thankful that I’ve learned how to be present and not take work too seriously, and I know that lesson will stick with me as I transition to new roles in my future.
After sixteen summers at Jacobs Camp and over forty regional and North American NFTY events, I think it’s safe to say this community has impacted me in more ways than my Kindergarten class did. It’s hard to imagine what my next chapter will be like without the regular breaks from the “real world” that camp and NFTY offer, but I know that the lessons I’m taking with me will help me navigate anything to come. I’m grateful for every person who’s been a part of my journey – every counselor, bunkmate, fellow board member, TYG advisor, former camper, Dream Street participant, supervisor, and fellow HSJ and URJ staff member. Each of you has played an integral role in shaping who I am, and I’ll take a piece of you with me as I embark on this next chapter.
Most of all, being a part of Jacobs Camp and NFTY Southern taught me that communities never really leave you. I know I am in good hands wherever I end up for graduate school, because there’s members of our community and family anywhere I go. Jacobs Camp and NFTY Southern have given me the best friends and experiences I can imagine, and I am so grateful I’ll always be able to call this community my home.
