Caroline Danziger–Olim Counselor
As a third grader, my mom and dad drove me into the gate of Jacobs Camp for the first time, and I was worried about all the things one would expect. Who would be my bunkmate? Who would be my counselors? Would I miss my parents? Would I even like camp? Luckily, the answers to all those questions were good ones—I was blessed with awesome friends, amazing counselors, and an incredible experience in the summer of 2007. Eight years later, my mom and dad drove me through the same gate to drop me off for the summer of 2015, my first year on staff. There were similar feelings of anxiety; being on staff was a terrifying responsibility for a 16-year-old.
Within the first week, I was assigned to an Olim cabin as their Gesher. Again—terrifying. Throughout the first week, I found myself thinking back to my Olim experience, trying to remember what my counselors did that truly made me want to come back to camp for seven summers. The answer was simple: they had fun right next to me. That breakthrough came about a week in, when I watched every single one of my Olim girls get on the tower swing and have the time of their life. That was when I realized what made camp so special: not your bunkmate, not the activities, not even the counselors, but the fun created here by a community of people who love camp just as much as everyone around them. This was perhaps one of the most important lessons I could learn as a first-year staff member, and also an incredibly valuable lesson to teach my first year campers.
The most basic reason why I keep choosing to come back to Olim 10 years after I was a camper in the unit is because being an Olim counselor gives me the opportunity to be a camper again. I get to relive each summer as if I’m driving into the Jacobs for the very first time in 2007. For example, this summer I tried the Wet Willies for the first time the same day my campers did. I got to have an awesome “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” messy night, I went on a campout, I went to see a magician, and the list goes on and on. But I choose to be an Olimer for life because there is nothing more magical at Jacobs than your first summer, and I get to share that experience every year with new campers. Working in Olim is such a unique experience because I get to see kids be independent for the first time, try new activities, and make friends they can keep for years to come. I’m able to watch kids grow into incredible campers, and their love for camp becomes infectious. Everyone around them has no choice but to smile at the fact that these kids are the future of camp, and I love getting to be part of the first step toward that. Anna and Nadav always remind Olim counselors that in ten years our campers will want to stand where we are, but I hope I’m still standing there in ten years too!!
