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I Hired My Child's Counselor Today

By Anne Izard on May 10, 2018

I hired my child’s counselor today! He’s smart, funny, engaging, and loves the outdoors. He has a work history with kids, is majoring in elementary education, and his references are glowing! He was one of those candidates that I knew in the first five minutes he would be a great fit. Sigh…yes!

So much of my time in the winter and spring is spent combing through applicants and interviewing them for the upcoming summer. After eight years of hiring, I have learned a thing or two.

  1. First impressions count- even over the virtual world of Skype and Google hangouts.
  2. People are surprising and can indeed surprise you. I tend to always learn something new from someone in a conversation. One of my favorite interview questions is, “Teach me something.” This question tends to put people on the spot and it’s an opportunity for them to demonstrate their creativity as well as their teaching ability. It is fascinating the spectrum of answers I have received with this particular question.
  3. There is a feeling, a connection, when you know the person is right.

Let me delve into number 3 a little bit more. The best people who work at GRP and the people I want to hire, tend to have a core set of hallmarks. These include but are not limited too:

  1. A sense of caring and kindness
  2. A passion to work with children
  3. A curiosity and an interest in understanding
  4. A concept for risk and the importance of good decision making
  5. A desire to make someone’s day better
  6. A belief in supporting the greater good- in this case the team of staff and campers
  7. A value for growth

I have always taken the hiring of my staff very seriously. Trust me on this one.

The staff are my frontline people working with your children. Their decisions and interactions with our customers, the campers and parents, can and will have lasting impressions. So much rides on them.

BUT… all of this takes a different twist this summer because my child will be in a cabin. I am one of you, a parent, sending my child to summer camp. I put myself in your shoes, the parent, and question each applicant with this perspective in mind. Will the applicant be a good role model? Will they celebrate with my child when he challenges himself? Will they be kind and loving if his feelings get hurt? Will they keep him safe? Will they be his friend? These questions and more are running through my brain during an interview. If any of these answers are no- the interviewee is a NO.

I get it. You trust us, Green River Preserve, and even more directly myself and my husband, Stephen, to provide your child with the safest, fun-filled experience. I do not take that responsibility lightly.

Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for giving your child the opportunity to come to camp. I am excited for you to meet your child’s counselor. I truly believe our staff this summer is exceptional.

Anne Izard
Anne Izard

Anne has worked at Green River over the years at summer camp, expeditions, and the school programs as a counselor, expedition leader, mentor, and program director. Anne’s related camp experiences include working as a counselor and program assistant at Camp Ton-A-Wandah in North Carolina, an expedition leader for Wilderness Ventures and an environmental educator and expedition leader for the Teton Science School. Prior to returning home to GRP, Anne was the Director of Education for the Mountain Studies Institute in Silverton, Colorado. Anne and her husband, Steve, are both actively engaged in the American Camp Association, The Association of Environmental Education, and The North Carolina Youth Camp Association. When Anne is not working, she can be found trail running, paddling, cycling, or backcountry skiing with her husband Steve, their sons, Phen and Hawkins,daughter, Alida,and golden retriever, Irie Bird!

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