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Hello, my name is Melissa, and this will be my 4th AMAZING summer at Camp Augusta!!! You can also call me Mel or Meliza, or maybe you’ll come up with a new version I haven’t heard yet! I can’t wait to arrive and join campers and staff as we venture through the woods of Augusta on a magical journey of discovery, creativity and imagination. Each year arriving to Augusta campers see familiar faces, structures and clinic areas, but they also find many new additions as seeds of creativity have grown into additions such as the tea pagoda, the chicken coup, and the lassos!
I joined Augusta for my first time in spring of 2005 and enjoyed myself so much as a counselor and CIT director that I keep coming back every year! Since then I’ve been working as assistant director and as Augusta evolves, so does my role. I love the variety that my days offer and the challenges I’m faced with, but most of all I love spending quality time with campers and staff. If they are returning, I love hearing about what they’ve been up to over the last year or if they are new, I love to hear all about how they came to join us this year.
Before I join the Augusta community for the summer, I must finish the school year and close up a few things back home. I journey to Augusta from my home town of Calgary, Canada where for the last two years (when I was not at camp) I have been teaching Jr. High math and science in an arts-centered learning program. While teaching, I’ve worked hard to get my students out and into the wilderness to learn as they discover their relationship to the natural world. I’ve also coached girls volleyball (2 time division champs!) and girls basketball (2nd place this year). For the next school year I have decided to take a break from classroom teaching and spend more time working with and for kids in the wilderness. After the summer, I will be working at camp straight through until the end of the 2009 season, other than a couple spurts of international travel. My plans after the 2009 season are still up in the air. This freedom and possibility excites and inspires me! For now, my passions lie in working with youth and being in the outdoors. Augusta is a perfect combination of those two.
Although I grew up in Calgary and enjoyed being close to the beautiful Rocky Mountains, I have roots and experiences in other parts of Canada. My whole family is from Quebec, with my mom’s side of the family being of French-Canadian decent. This is where I get my ability to speak French as well as English, so if you know some French, come and join me for a chat some time! After completing my Bachelor of Science in Biology in Calgary, I moved to a small town called Antigonish, Nova Scotia for two years while I took my teaching degree. My experiences there have enriched my ability to appreciate community as the folks in the Maritimes work hard to build tight-knit communities of their own.
Prior to teaching, my experience with youth included babysitting, volunteering as a camp counselor for a week, volunteering at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and volunteering at an educational & therapeutic program for at-risk teen girls. This last experience is what made me change my intended career path (I was planning on being a doctor) and led me towards education.
Since last summer at camp, my time in the wilderness has included my first time cross-country skiing (if you haven’t tried it, I certainly recommend it!), wildness first aid training, 2 weeks of taking my grade 7 classroom outdoors to a local conservation area, one week with my grade 8s at a local camp, and many hikes with friends.
In my spare time, I love to spend time with friends, going out for dinner or breakfast and chatting for hours! I love spending time outside enjoying the natural landscape (the Yuba River, for example!). I love taking photos or getting immersed in photos taken through someone else’s lens. I love hearing about experiences that people have had in different locations around the world, or experiencing some of my own. I love that “aha!” moment when helping a student understand something that has been troubling them. I love engaging people in silly songs. I love seeing the look on someone’s face when they accomplished something they didn’t believe they could, like making it to the top of the climbing wall, finishing a ropes course or creating a master piece on the pottery wheel.
Below is a list of some of my favorites:
Favorite color: green (especially olive green or lime green)
Favorite trees: trembling aspen & ponderosa pine
Favorite font (I love fonts!): Jokerman
Favorite pass time: wondering in the woods with friends
Favorite animal: otters
Favorite quotes:
"It's not too late at all. You just do not yet know what you are capable of." - Mahatma Gandhi
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" -Einstein
“UNLESS someone like you…cares a whole awful lot…nothing is going to get better…It’s not.”-Dr. Seusse (The Lorax)
“Fill the world with children who care and things start looking up.”
What are your favorites? Share them with me as we journey in Augusta!
I can’t wait to arrive amongst the excitement, to share in the events that create wonder in campers’ eyes. I can’t wait to wear costumes for no reason or to help get into character for an evening program. I can’t wait to sing loud at campfires and to go bananas! I can’t wait to share a summer of enchantment with staff and campers alike. The anticipation is almost overwhelming!
A bientôt!
Melissa
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