The core of the Summer Camp Counselor’s job is caring for, managing, and leading their cabin of 10-12 kids with a co-Counselor. Counselors work to ensure the safety and well-being of their campers through constant communication with campers and staff, providing structure for their cabin, and creating a supportive and respectful atmosphere in the cabin. Counselors also help their Campers maintain a clean living environment and healthy personal habits. Beyond the cabin, we ask Counselors to think and act as “lead learners.” Beam Camp is an opportunity for all of us to grow, Campers and Staff alike. By creating an atmosphere in which we are open to experimenting, learning, and making the occasional mistake, we provide the Campers with a safe space in which they can challenge themselves. In order to be open to learning, we are not just watching Campers, but engaging in the activities with the Campers.
Counselors participate in most Program areas, either as leaders, collaborators, or in a supportive role. Program areas include Independent Work in our Guilds (self-directed projects by campers supported and guided by staff), Community Work (cooking, cleaning, and maintenance), the Big Project (our session-long ambitious undertaking), Domains (subject-specific workshops), Pulse (swimming, sports and active play), and After Dinner (adaily post-dinner event when campers perform, play/invent a game, have campres, and more). While the Counselor can always expect to be actively participating, they needn't have preexisting skill in these areas but any relevant experience is a plus. To highlight and support each individual sta members' talents, skills, and interests, Counselors will be designated to one of three programmatic "focuses" for the summer which will dictate what they spend the majority of their time working on:
● Instruction (focusing on craft, problem solving, and teaching) - primarily based in the shops supporting Independent Work, Domains, and occasionally building the Big Project.
● Programming (focusing on event planning, engagement, and theatrics) - primarily planning After Dinners, helping to plan Theme Days, coordinating skits and camp gags, and occasionally building the Big Project.
● Community (focusing on the abilities and interests of how campers get involved in the community)- Community counselors work with our Community Engagement Director to engage campers in 535 workshops, Pulse, camp documentation, community care and occasionally building the Big Project.
The camp is in New Hampshire but we operate in Brooklyn through the year. For this reason, our staff primarily comes from the NYC area, but folks are welcome to apply from either location!
About Us
Hi, my name is Brett and I am the Staff director for Beam Camp in New Hampshire.
At Beam Camp, youth aged 9-17 and staff learn to make their ideas a reality. Through fine and manual arts, technology, and collaboration, Beam Campers cultivate hands-on skills while exploring innovative thinking, design, and the creative process. We have a fully equipped woodshop, metal shop, fabrication lab, and an arts and craft barn ready for ceramics, sewing, painting and more. Campers spend a good portion of their day in those shops and making their own self-designed projects known as Independent Work projects. The centerpiece of camp is the large-scale Big Project. This is a project selected from an international open call, and incorporates elements of metalworking, woodworking, and related skills and practices.
This all takes place on hundreds of acres of forest and mountains with two lakes for swimming and boating, and plenty of space for physical activity hiking, sports, campfires, and more classic camp activities!
We are looking for staff to join us at Beam Camp this summer in several roles at our sleep-away summer camp in New Hampshire. Year round, we operate in Brooklyn, NY, but each summer we shuttle staff and campers up to camp to spend seven weeks building incredible things with the camp community and back to the city again in August.
