Echo Lake was my first sleepaway camp experience. ...

Echo Lake was my first sleepaway camp experience. I'm from Northern Michigan and my parents were both teachers, so I spent my summers traveling with my family as a kid. When I first came to camp, I didn't understand how a parent could send their child away for 2 months. After the first week the campers were at Echo Lake, my opinion was totally flipped. These campers come here and are allowed to pursue excellence in whatever they choose. It could be artistic, athletic, musical, social, etc. Typically they find excellence in many categories. I had never seen a place offer so much at such high quality. The staff as a whole, top down, works together to create a place where everyone is loved and successful. Seriously, I don't know how else to say it. Echo Lake does everything it possibly can to create a place where everyone, Directors to staff to campers, can have some pure, unbridled joy in their lives. I found it here. 6 years later, it only keeps getting better. I honestly couldn't say enough. I could write a book about it. Ok, now I'm rambling.... but I'm not done:

To people considering applying to be staff, I can only offer my personal opinion. Echo Lake is the single greatest community of people, and most joyful place, I have ever been a part of. Working at Echo Lake is the single most impactful decision I've ever made. Camp Echo Lake allowed me to become a person I'm proud of being and it drove me to succeed in the rest of my life. That was possible because I am loved and supported by those above me, but held to very high expectations. I am able to make kids laugh and smile everyday, but also occasionally deal with kids who act downright mean. I make friendships, lasting and fierce, with almost everyone I meet, but inevitably not with everyone. The job is not all sunshine and rainbows. It can be demanding and emotional. You will not be happy if you're just here to have a summer job or get to America and travel after. Staff here do something meaningful and lasting. To be successful, that's where you need to get your joy. Having an amazing time is inevitable after that. If that sounds good to you, come join the family :)

Ok, I should really be done now... must stop gushing... this is the 5th time I've added more.... It's just that good