Pros
Great co-counselors and decent food. The chance to travel around different parts of the United States afterwards was incredible. Some of the children were great, and it was satisfying to see what they accomplished by the end. Getting to introduce children to my livelihood and capture their interest and imagination was a joy.
Cons
Extremely long work hours - from waking up for breakfast at 8am to about 10pm, unless you're on bunk duty, in which case, no work hours off that day. One day off per week, unless it's every third week, where new children are shipped in. Neither staff nor staying children get a break between sessions. Pay so low, it's illegal in most countries, in a camp which costs around 6,000 dollars per child. Some bunks were old and faulty and rodent problems were blamed on children and staff. 15 people living per small room, with 30 sharing a bathroom. Owner of said camp regularly screamed at the teenage area of the dining hall to shut up. When covid hit the camp, staff and children were tested in an imprecise manner, leading its spread and sufferers to be isolated in covid bunks. Some campers could be extremely verbally abusive to counselors due to their often privileged upbringing, and receive no backlash from it, causing unfortunate counselors to be subjected to it daily. Pride flags were banned in a theatre camp to keep a specific kind of parent happy, which upset many children, especially at a theatre camp where there are often many members of the LGBT+ community. This is not to mention a very clumsy attempt at explaining this that accidentally implied including pride flags was like including N*zi flags. In a predominantly Jewish theatre camp. The childrens visceral reaction was warranted and upsetting to watch.