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Hi, my name is Jake Matlak and I am returning for my 3rd summer at Camp Augusta. The past two years I had been the counselor for Pine 3, but this year I am mixing things up a bit. I will be doing some substitute-counseling for the first few weeks in Cedar village for counselors who will be arriving to camp late. Afterwards I plan to try my hand at the mysterious job of Camp Augusta Hero. These vague, ghost-like entities spend a lot of time behind the scenes helping the gears of camp running smoothly. I know from my time as a counselor that these employees are indispensable to camp life, and I only hope that I can live up to some of the legendary heroes who have served before me. Maybe you won’t see me sleeping in my same bed in Pine 3, but after I master the nimble art of Heroism, you will know I am at camp when your canoe mysteriously tips over or you catch a glimpse of a black knight defeating all the level 3 and 4 swordsmen and women.
I grew up in the mitten state of Michigan in a city called Grand Rapids with my parents and two younger brothers. I am now 26 years old but when I am at camp I don’t feel much older than 11 or 12. It is amazing how a place like Augusta can reduce supposed ‘grownups’ into giggling clowns covered in oatmeal whose most important concern in a day is how they can get the most people soaking wet in a water fight. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a place where I could play outside every day and used my imagination with my brothers and my friends to create innumerable games and worlds to play in. One of my goals while at camp is to help the campers get the same sense of wonder out of the world that I had when I was their age and that I still have today.
I have worked with youth in the past in the form of coach, babysitter, and counselor for mentally and physically disabled children. Beyond official jobs I have had, I just like to play. I have learned a great deal from the training and the experience of working at Camp Augusta, and am trying to come in to camp this year with an open mind ready to learn more. I am excited for all the new activities that we have at camp this year, and getting the chance to brush up on all the skills I have already aquired from my time there. As the time for the season approaches I realize how much I have missed all the friends I have made from the staff and the campers. I can’t wait to see all the smiling faces again this year.
I graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in history a few years ago, and since then I have done a lot of traveling and worked all around the country. Last year I spent 5 months in New Orleans working with volunteer groups cleaning up after Hurrican Katrina. After camp last year I traveled down to Central America to try my hand at Spanish. I will be returning to the States for camp after 6 months in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador. My time has been spent learning the language, traveling, volunteering in various projects and studying the history and culture. The people I have met are absolutely incredible and I feel blessed for having had the opportunity to live here. After camp this year I will return to El Salvador for 3 months to work on a project constructing hundreds of homes in a poor rural community. I worked with them for a week while I was there in March, and now I will have the opportunity to learn much more about the work they are doing and make a significant contribution myself.
I am very excited to get back into the camp atmosphere. My body and mind have been craving the calming therapy of capturing flags, roasting marshmellows, giving and receiving friendship bracelets (although the ones I give have a tendecy to be quite ugly and deformed – I am going to learn how to make them better this year) and jumping off of rocks into the crystal clear water of the Yuba. Jumping off of things into water is one of my favorite things to do, and I have had some wonderful opportunities to do this in Central America, but nothing compares with the cool, refreshing Yuba water and the amazing landscape that surrounds you as you look up. So I can’t wait to see you all there, y espero que nos veamos muy pronto! ¡Hasta luego!
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