Being in this Crane Lake community has opened my eyes to a realm of possibilities for future professional goals and ways to have an impact on the future generations of campers and staff members. For the first three years of being a counselor I was a lifeguard/swim instructor at the pool. I would teach lessons day in and day out making sure the kids were learning and having fun at the same time, just as equally in the bunk. However, as time moved forward I knew that I could not always have the luxurious lifestyle of being a pool lifeguard. This past academic year I have gone back and forth with my friends who worked with me over the summer about what I should do for the summer 2015. After much deliberation, I decided that to make the biggest impact on camp really comes from the counselors. Where does that start? With the Machon.

Becoming the Assistant Machon Director has really given me the opportunity to start at the source of where a fantastic summer starts, and that is with training counselors to become the best that they can be. I felt as though with my past history of being a Machon in 2011 and my experience as a counselor/specialist that I could help these Machon achieve what I have in the past. One thing specifically that I took away from my Machon summer was a cohesive relationship inside the bunk. Thankfully, when I was a Machon I worked with counselors who welcomed me with open arms and we functioned as a unit. With our working relationship we were able to keep a positive attitude between us, which kept an uplifting spirit for the campers. I believe that I can not only teach the Machon about cohesive relationships with our staff, but also teach them that with this cohesion it is accomplishing much more. I am excited to see this years Machon accomplish much more and grow to be the best counselors they can be.

By Josh Feinberg, Assistant Machon Director