Testimonials

Last summer I was filling out my application not knowing what I was getting myself in to but just taking a chance, and now I cannot think of anything else I want to do with my summer other than work at Camp Alleghany. Reflecting back on my summer at camp, I believe I was the happiest I have ever been in my life. I love how I am taken completely out of my element when I am at camp. It is very different from any place I have ever lived, and I love it. I have never worked with a group of people who are so loving, talented, smart, and welcoming. It is hard to believe sometimes that working at camp is a “job.” I don’t believe there are many jobs that allow you to feel so loved, valued, and appreciated in the midst of taking care of business.

To be able to surround myself with girls ages 8-16 and make a difference in their lives in the short period of time we have together is simply priceless. Working at camp last year helped me to believe I can bring joy to others around me.

Being a part of a place where girls can get away from there every day life and express themselves freely is something I am proud to do. If I affect a girl in a positive way, even if it is small, it is worth every day at camp.

I have learned a lot about myself through being in charge of a group of younger girls. I’ve learned who I am as a person, and as a role model, and how to be a better one. There is no other joy in the world that has come to me as strong as making the summers of the younger campers at Alleghany as memorable as mine were.

I cannot fathom a summer without Alleghany and the West Virginia hills. I leave camp every summer feeling like I have accomplished something. As the buses headed out at the end of 2nd term last summer, I found a note in my pocket that had been hidden there from a camper that read. “Thank you so much for making this summer so great. You were an amazing teacher and role model. You’ve been so nice this summer, and I’m glad I was here and came full term. You’ve been great!” It is small things like this that make me feel as if I have an effect on the world and making it a better place, even if it is just making one teenage girl realize that she has a friend and is capable of so many wonderful things in her future. I find working at camp to be the utmost fulfilling job. That note still sits on my desk, and I pull it out and read it when I myself need encouragement.

Over the years camp has taught me, initially a painfully shy camper, self-appreciation and how to grow in to a confident teenager. As a camper who looked up to all of my counselors, I know the importance of having a dedicated and loving staff to inspire and support the campers in every success. I want to be there for the campers.

I enjoy spending my summers with the campers because it is an awesome feeling to teach these girls to love camp as much as I do!

The single thing I was most excited about experiencing as a Junior Counselor was to re-create some of the moments my favorite counselors gave to me. I felt that I was successful in that, and it was more rewarding than words can describe.

Waking up to my campers’ enthusiastic smiles for another day filled with songs and fun was a priceless treasure that I will take with me for years of camping to come.

I cherish the traditions, activities, and people at camp so close to my heart, and the only way I know how to express this is to pass it on to the campers now that I am a counselor.

On the last day of camp, after all my campers had left, I found a note in a Camp Alleghany envelope. It was a letter in smudged marker written by my 4 campers explaining how much I had made an impact on them and how great of a counselor they thought I was. Whether it was their attempt at a goodbye letter or just a note to make me smile, it truly hit home for me.

I come back every year for the campers. I love watching them grow and mature. I love forming bonds and making a difference in every girl’s life.

I honestly can not think of a summer going by not spent at Alleghany. I want to help make these girls have the best summer ever, like counselors did for me.

I strongly believe that the experiences I had as a camper and the influence my counselors had on me made me the person I am today, and I want to help other campers have the same special experience at Alleghany.