Staff Bios
    

Dawn Thomas, 30
Wirral England
Camp Director

Experience: 3 years as Director at Camp Spaulding, 4 years with Girl Scout Camps: 1 year in NC as Director, 1 year in MI as Asst. Director, 2 years in MI as Boating Director

I truly believe in the mission of Camp Spaulding. I have come from the same background as some of the kids at camp and worked as an Outreach Youth Worker with at-risk kids for several years in the UK.

My favorite parts of the camp experience are seeing campers succeed at new tasks, the satisfaction of the homesick camper making it through the whole session and not wanting to leave by the end, and seeing the expressions on the faces of campers who don't have the resources the rest of the year to take part in the activities they do at camp!

Meghan Provost, 25
Manchester, NH
Assistant Director

Experience: 1 year assisstant director at Camp Spaulding, Camp counselor at Camp Spaulding

Camp Spaulding gives such a sense of welcoming and sincerity that it makes you want to stay forever. The campers give all staff a chance to see why children are so special and why they are the future.

My favorite part of Camp Spaulding is the ropes course, because it gives the campers the chance to get over their fears and mature as young adults, to watch the children go from being petrified to being ecstatic to achieve the challenge course, also giving the campers a chance to work together as a team is amazing. All in all Camp is a great way to grow and learn about oneself not only for the campers but as well as the staff!

James Bubier, 22
Lewiston , ME
Ropes Course Specialist

Experience: 9 years of camp, including 3 years at Camp Spaulding

My favorite parts of the camp experience are the outdoors and seeing the kids smile.

Ropes Course Staff

Several counselors with various experiences on ropes courses throughout the world are specifically trained to facilitate on the Child and Family Services Ropes course. They work with campers in cabin groups and as camper choice activities to help them build confidence, trust, communication skills and a sense of teamwork. "It's exciting to see a 10 year old walking across a thin cable at thirty feet in the air, only a few days after they struggled to climb the ladder"

Counselors and Staff

The twenty counselors and four specialists that work with the campers are generally college age students with majors in the arts, human services, education, outdoor education, social work, or family studies. Many see working at Camp Spaulding as a natural extension of their career path. The counselors at Camp Spaulding come from New England as well as various countries in Europe, Africa, and Australia, offering campers a unique perspective from cultures that may be different from their own.

Each cabin houses ten to twelve campers and two counselors. The role of the counselor is to provide leadership, supervision, as well as to develop and lead activities for the campers based on the counselors skills and interests and the needs of the camp.

Counselors in Training

Former campers that have shown a high capability of leadership and a strong investment in camp may be invited back as CITs. Fifteen year olds may return for two sessions, learning the role of the counselor. The following year they may come for the entire summer and be assigned as a co-counselor of a cabin.