A year of change.
That is the easiest way to sum up the previous year for me. Last summer I had the privilege of leading the LIT's through a challenging summer, which confirmed camp has a strong future ahead if it can continue to produce campers and staff of the quality within that group. Returning to Australia I instantly committed myself to another summer.
I did not want just another summer though, I must admit I was greedy. I wanted more. I started seeking a ways and means of making my annual trip to camp a more permanent position. I spent the first six months post camp enquiring how such a thing could be possible. Looking at obtaining a visa and the processes that I would have to go through to gain one. Bottom line I needed a job. In stepped the place that started it all. Camp.
I have spent the new year speaking with the Aaron Cantor and the JCC, organising a position, completing legal documentation and sitting for interviews with the consulates, as well as completing my senior year at university. I am ecstatic to state that I will be calling Rochester home for the next two years working at the JCC, who knows it might be even longer.
All of this would not have been possible if not for camp. A place that I came to randomly in 2010 and changed my life for the better. It pushed me to succeed in ways that I could never imagine, transformed me into a determined and motivated individual that now wants to give back to the community that has provided so very much.
This summer I will be returning as one of the Waterfront Directors, I hope to provide the campers with the opportunity to learn new skills, improve on old ones and to just participate in what will be the grandest summer yet. With a new outlook on life full of endless opportunities, this summer can not come quick enough. I am returning (and can now call it) home.
Rob West
Co-Waterfront Director
