Working at Camp Starlight for a summer is fun, challenging, and rewarding. You have the opportunity to live in a bunk with our campers on our beautiful campus in the endless mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania. You will work with campers during each of our six activity periods. However, you will be with the kids so much more often than that. In fact, you’ll be with them from wake-up to bedtime.
Mealtimes. Rest Hour. Shower Hour. Activity Periods. All-day long, you have the chance to interact with our amazing campers. And as lucky as you are to be with them, they are equally fortunate to have you as one of our amazing staff members.
Through all the time that you spend with your campers, it only takes a single moment…a single moment to change a child’s life. This may sound like something out of a fantasy novel, but it is absolutely true. We can all think back to a single conversation we had with an adult when we were younger that still impacts us today. The strangest part about this “moment”? You will never know it’s happening, and neither will the child. You may say something that seems inconsequential to both of you. Then, days later, that child is still thinking about it and you have long since forgotten about it. Years later, you’ve changed that child’s future based on a single conversation, and while they frantically search for your phone number to say “Thank You,” you may hardly remember that camper.
At the conclusion of my third summer at Camp Starlight, I received a Counselor Appreciation letter from a camper who wrote about something that had happened the summer previously. The letter detailed a very intellectual and emotional realization that the camper had due to an interaction we had. However, this interaction wasn’t a profound conversation or a disciplinary issue. This interaction was me turning off the water while he brushed his teeth. He turned it back on. I turned it off. We went back and forth several times, and, amidst our laughter, I finally convinced him to leave it off once I left the bathroom. In my mind, that was the end. However, for reasons he explained in the letter, this was genuinely a meaningful moment in his life that he still thought about over a year later. Without his Counselor Appreciation Letter, I would have never known this “moment” existed.
As a counselor at Camp Starlight, we only ask that you come as you are. Athletic, quirky, nerdy, shy, outgoing, or anything in between. We’ve seen it all and appreciate it equally. As a staff member, we don’t expect your summer to be filled with life-changing moments. In fact, looking for these moments would be counterproductive. By simply being yourself, you will build strong relationships with your campers.
So, don’t search for this “moment.” Embrace your individuality and cherish the summer with these amazing children because as much as you can impact them, they will certainly have an impact on you.
One thing parents love so much about camp is that it takes campers out of their comfort zones in many ways. Not only are campers eating and sleeping in a new place, but they’re also trying games and activities that are new to them, and working with people they’ve never met. This shake-up of their routine does wonders for their social, physical, and emotional health. Camp also has a unique way of shifting the mindset of campers. A summer at camp is a summer away from social media and texting and a time focused on nature, real relationships, character building, and good ‘ol fashioned fun.
For some lucky families, dinnertime is an enjoyable and relaxing time to connect with family. For others, it’s like World War III. Whether kids are too busy chatting about their day to eat, or refuse to eat anything remotely healthy, keeping kids fed can be a challenge for many families. Many parents are surprised to hear that when their kids go to camp, they’re more likely to try newer, healthier foods than they would at home.
Camp Starlight gives a camper everything they could practically want when they are at summer camp: fun, adventure, music and anything else under the sun. To acknowledge everything Camp Starlight gives to its campers, the Upper Senior boys and girls give back to camp by volunteering at every camp cook out. Preparing, serving and smiling, the Upper Seniors help out tremendously by sacrificing their own down time to make every campus cookout run smoothly. Often wearing punny shirts that say “Lettuce Serve You,” the Upper Seniors make volunteering and giving back to camp a really fun experience. Handing out every hotdog and hamburger with a smile, they show how volunteering can be a rewarding experience and they give the support staff a well deserved break. Their hard work in setting up the food and serving all of camp sets themselves as great role models for Lower Camp as well, portraying qualities of responsibility and leadership that are a part of Camp Starlight’s philosophy in teaching campers important lessons. When the campers from Lower Camp see the oldest campers give back to Camp Starlight, they are inspired to do the same and take the initiative to be selfless. The Upper Senior’s volunteering sets a chain reaction for other campers to follow in these acts of kindness. While the Upper Seniors are helping out campers enjoy a fun cookout, they are also helping Camp Starlight continue to become a more positive place all summer long. 
The Starlight Junior boys basketball team took a great team win from Tioga, winning 38-8. Every single player on the team contributed. Justin J. led the way with 10 points and Reid S. added 6 points to the total himself. Jackson H., Miles L., Max S. and Harrison R. all scored 4 points and Rhys B. added 2 points. Calen T., Marc F., Rhys B. and Jesse J. played very big with 2 blocks and 14 combined rebounds. Carter B. played great offensively with 4 assists. Overall it was a combined team effort to come out victorious over Tioga. 
The Lower Senior boys basketball team moved onto a 2-0 record beating Weequahic at home behind Justin G.’s game high 30 points and 5 steals. He exploded in the first quarter, setting the offensive tone by scoring 12 points. Jake B. and Justin H. also took some of the scoring load with 12 points and 2 steals a piece. Michael G. erupted for a quick 8 points to start the second half while Ben W. had 2 steals and 4 points and Aidan C. scored 3 points. Jack T.’s defensive presence nabbed 8 rebounds. Jonah S., Harrison S., Alexander H. and Ethan B. rounded out the scoring with 2 points each.
As the sun sets behind the trees and a lavender sky, new camp families are joined together in the grassy fields. Stretched out into a giant circle, girls from Lower Camp are spotted in between their new camp sister on the softball fields and brothers on the tennis courts. Boys and girls from Upper Camp mentor the younger campers, providing a sense of support and care just like older siblings do at home. For many campers, this is their first time fulfilling the role of big brother or sister while for others this is the first time they will experience the relationship of having an older sibling that will specifically advise their growth at camp. The older/younger sibling dynamic at camp gives the opportunity for younger campers to also look up to a big brother or sister when they look up into the stars- more often than not these views tend to be one in the same in the eyes of the little sibling.
The one tradition Lower Seniors and Upper Debs look forward to at the start of the summer is the Eagle Ceremony. In reference to a cheer begun a few years ago, Lower Senior girls fly high as Eagles instead of quacking around like ducks because at this stage in their lives they become the leaders instead of the followers. At the ceremony, Upper Debs watch as the Lower Seniors are initiated as Eagles with camp director Allison, the Upper Debs are present so that they can look forward to experiencing the same ceremony next summer and begin to uphold the characteristics that define an Eagle. The idea of leadership is very important for Camp Starlight to instill among the Upper Camp because it is a positive theme for the girls that are getting older, achieving more responsibility and fulfilling the roles that require leadership qualities.
Camp traditions are kind of like an inside joke between friends; you really have to be there and be part of it to understand and appreciate the power and the feeling that is associated with them. Camp traditions are things that happen at camp that every camper and staff member can relate to, whether they went to camp 70 years ago or are experiencing it now for the first time. They are a way for campers to connect with their fellow campers, their counselors, and the camp itself. Some “traditional” traditions at camp like singing Friends and the Camp Starlight Alma Mater, All Camp Show, Opening Campfires, skipping around the flagpole, divisional cheers, and singing in the dining room create a sense of connection and belonging to the Starlight family. Many traditions at Camp Starlight are held sacred to campers and counselors alike, and they’re just one of those things you have to experience to truly understand.