Why Scouting Prepares You for Camp America | Podcast

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Two things to cover this episode. One is a genuinely useful piece of advice about preparing for Camp America that I don’t see talked about enough. The other is that I had COVID again, which is less useful but is at least topical.

Let’s start with the useful one.

Why Your Time in the Scouts Matters More Than You Think

If you were a Cub Scout, Scout, or Young Leader growing up — or if you’re still involved in Scouting now — you are already better prepared for Camp America than you probably realise. And I say this from personal experience, because the dots only really connected for me once I was actually at camp and thinking: oh, this is just Scouts but in Georgia, in significantly more heat, and with more bears.

The Outdoor Skills Are Directly Transferable

This one’s obvious in retrospect. If you’ve been camping, built fires, navigated in the woods, and generally spent time outdoors in an organised way — all of that applies directly to camp life, and especially to outdoor specialist roles like the one I had at Camp Honeystone.

Camps don’t just want people who are enthusiastic about the outdoors. They want people who have actually done things outdoors. The difference when it comes to a recruitment interview is significant, and a Scouting background is one of the clearest signals you can give a camp that you’re not going to freeze up the first time someone asks you to lead a hike.

Working with Kids Is Not as Instinctive as People Assume

A lot of first-time camp counsellors underestimate how different it is to be responsible for children versus just being around them. If you were a Young Leader in the Scouts, you already know: managing a group of kids requires patience, authority without being a tyrant, the ability to keep things moving when attention spans start wandering, and the specific skill of making something sound exciting even when you personally are not feeling it.

This is exactly what camp asks of you, every single day. Scouts teaches it in a low-stakes, home-country environment before you’re dropped into it 6,000 miles from home.

Camps Notice It on Applications

When you’re filling in your Camp America profile or sitting in a placement interview, relevant experience is what gets you placed in the roles you actually want rather than whatever’s left over. Scouting backgrounds get noticed. They signal character — independence, teamwork, outdoor confidence, youth work experience — in a way that a lot of other CV lines don’t.

If you have it, don’t undersell it. If you don’t, it’s worth considering before you apply — some areas have leader shortage and will fast-track you through Young Leader status relatively quickly.

The COVID Update (Less Fun)

Right, the less edifying update. I had COVID again at the time of recording this. The voice in the podcast may give it away slightly. It is what it is — by this point in 2022 most people had had it at least once and were approaching round two with a kind of weary familiarity, and I was no exception.

I’m fine. The episode got recorded despite it. And the book still came out, which is the main thing.

 

To read my hilarious summer camp experience, check out my books on Amazon: 

Book 1: There’s No Place Like Summer Camp Book 2: Camp America: Second Summer Shenanigans