The journey of Rebecca Gonser to Olympia Sports camp was maybe pre-destined and so too was her choice of profession but the impact she has had is as genuine and inspiring as the person she is.
“I thought the counsellors were the coolest people I'd ever met,” Rebecca recalls,”. It became my dream to someday be on staff. I got all my certifications to be a lifeguard with the full-on purpose to get a job here.”
Rebecca came on staff in 2010 as a waterfront counsellor. She loved camp, and the feeling was mutual. After starting in the nursing program at Queens she came back in 2011 and was hired as a senior staff. She worked the spring school trip sessions and was director of small crafts and boating for three summers, all while doing her undergrad in Kingston.
Having had so much fun and so many different experiences on Oxbow Lake, Rebecca’s true calling came when she got involved in the Health Centre. Rebecca became the quasi-coordinator/ director of the health centre for a summer. Doing a job like the health centre gave Rebecca perspective to the needs of campers. A combination of her nurses training and her caring personality led her to designing a position on staff dedicated to specific needs of campers in the realm of mental health.
“We were seeing more and more kids coming to camp with mental health concerns and I felt we needed someone to help with their issues,” Rebecca says,” I pitched the idea to Dave and Greg and was empowered to create the position. Olympia is all about inclusion and camp was an opportunity to help show these kids how amazing life can be. Camp showed them what it’s like to be a part of a team and part of something bigger.”
Rebecca knew she didn’t want any camper to slip through the cracks and not have a positive camp experience. A problem could be something like too much noise and stimulus in the dining hall, but they love camp otherwise. Maybe all that camper needed was to sit outside and eat in a calmer environment. That’s where a caring professional like Rebecca comes in.
“I loved that role,” Rebecca says,” I especially loved that it was created with the encouragement of Dave and Greg. Only at Olympia could anyone at my age have the opportunity to create a way to impact a child’s summer, and maybe their life. We realized that checking in with the parents to see what worked at home would help us be better prepared for their week at camp. This isn’t treatment in an acute stage. All we want is for every child to have the chance to thrive here and have a great week without letting those things hold them back.”
Rebecca did that job for a year, then she graduated from Queen’s, but she wasn’t done with Olympia. Not by a long shot. The first summer post -graduation she was a camp nurse for four weeks and helped coaching with aqua sports and sailing and led some of the canoe trips. She was doing everything she loves. At a place she loves like no other. While doing all this Rebecca was working in the trauma unit at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital.
“I’m fortunate to be a healthcare professional and bring that lens to camp, while at the same time I’m dealing with what goes on in the hospital and then I get to come to camp and be with kids and counsellors.”
Rebecca has learned that Olympia means different things to different people, whether it’s their first time being up north or the first time on a zip line or seeing some wildlife. She loves sharing a first-time ever experience with people she is leading.
“We take it for granted, but a lot of people have never been on the water, never been on a boat,” Rebecca shares, “I used to do weekly rides on the pontoon boat with NBA players. I’d take them kayaking. I remember Kyle Singler taking on so much water in his kayak that I ended up having to tow him back to shore. Priceless memories. For him and for me.”
Rebecca continues down memory lane.
“ I used to take groups on canoe trips and for many of then it would be life-changing. I saw teens grow in the matter of a week or two. They gained new perspective on life but also new respect for themselves and their abilities and their confidence.”
Rebecca’s Olympia experience of managing people for the good of others has helped her in her professional life. She now has moved back home to Stratford and is working at the Stratford General Hospital. She works in a role in the hospital where she helps with hiring. When she sees a resume that lists camp counsellor experience, she knows that the applicant will be great because they have dealt with responsibility, many when they are as young as 16. They also know the positive attitude that is needed on any team, and they know resilience.
“At Olympia counsellors are given so many different responsibilities at such a young age. I remember having a cabin when I was 16 and I had three 19-year-olds as campers. Senior staff might be 22 and making decisions to help the young counsellors find their way. The support and team around you give you all the confidence you need,” Rebecca says,” I was 8 when I first came here and have grown so much because of this place. I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for Olympia. I look forward to coming back every summer. It's hard to put into words what this place is and what it means. It's that energy and the spirit. I’ve been here in the fall when there are 20 people on camp and in the summer when there are 500. It doesn't matter. Same energy, same sense of peace. Yes, it is a beautiful place, but it’s the people. It’s the relationships.”
Olympia is a place where. Olympia is a people who. People like Rebecca Gonser.
The link to the blog is TuesdayswithDave.blogspot.com
This blog is about the journey of the writing of the book A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp. The blog will contain excerpts from the book and my personal thoughts on what the place and the people that make up Olympia's journey is all about. The title comes from the great book Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. The blog's title is recognizing Dave Grace as Camp Director, but all content is my own.
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