What To Expect
How Your Summer Looks
For most staff, the summer begins after Memorial Day with a certification and work project week.
Training
You’ll participate in a week-long staff training and live in a cabin with your fellow camp staff. Training days are long and fun! We cover topics such as:
- Building relationships with your campers
- Helping your campers work through challenging experiences
- Facilitating all of the camp’s fun activities, including horseback riding, waterfront and high adventure elements
- How to be a team player and support other camp staff
- Child protection, safety procedures and best practices
Staff receive training in first aid and CPR. Our lifeguards receive advanced Red Cross training to provide primary supervision during all waterfront activities.
Some positions require staff to arrive before Memorial Day weekend to accommodate additional training. These positions include members of our leadership team (Unit Leaders, Counselors-in-Training staff, Waterfront Coordinator, etc.) and our ranch staff.
After staff training, we hit the ground running with nine weeks of overnight camp.
2025 Summer Camp Schedule
All summer camp staff must commit to participating in our training week and at least half of the camper weeks.
| Week | Dates |
| Training Week | June 2-6 |
| Week 1 | June 8-13 |
| Week 2 | June 15-20 |
| Week 3 | June 22-27 |
| Week 4 | June 29 - July 3 |
| Week 5 | July 6-11 |
| Week 6 | July 13-18 |
| Week 7 | July 20-25 |
| Week 8 | July 27-Aug. 1 |
| Week 9 | Aug. 3-8 |
What a Week Looks Like
Leadership meets at noon on Sundays, and all staff are briefed at 1:00 p.m. Campers arrive Sunday afternoon for their week of fun. Campers head home on Friday morning. After campers have gone, staff set up for the next week. We close with a staff meeting.
Leadership staff arrive for a meeting at noon. This meeting ensures everyone is on the same page for the upcoming week. At 1:00 pm, cabin counselors join an all-staff meeting. In this meeting, we may have some professional development activities to help us be the best staff in the business, meet with our mentors and talk about the upcoming week. After the meeting, you have time to make your cabin welcoming to your new campers. At 2:45 pm, we meet again to receive finalized weekly schedules, and campers begin arriving at 3:00 pm.
The first day of camp is a busy one! After all your campers have arrived, you’ll have time to make a community commitment (setting behavior/ social norm expectations) for your cabin and guiding them through their swim quest. After dinner, we host our opening campfire; then, we are off to our cabin for cabin chats before bed!
Please see “What a Day Looks Like'' below for what camp looks like from Monday to Thursday.
On Friday, breakfast is a little later. Campers getting picked up at 10:00 a.m. must have all their belongings in luggage carts before the start of breakfast. After breakfast, 10:00 a.m. campers will head out, while 3:00 p.m. campers stay behind and complete a camper satisfaction survey. Those campers will have time to participate in an all-camp activity before lunch.
After lunch, campers and staff return to their cabins to pack and clean before pick-up. The final camper pick-up starts at 3:00 p.m. During pick-up, you may be dismissed a little early to finish cleaning your cabin for the next week. At 4:00 p.m., we meet for a staff meeting and share our highs and lows for the week and shout-outs.
Once the meeting is over and you have been checked out of your cabin, you are off until Sunday. You may only stay at Camp for the weekend if you have graduated high school.
What a Day Looks Like
(Monday-Thursday)
7:30 am - Wake up
Establish a morning routine for your campers. Ensure everyone has gone to the bathroom and brushed their teeth before heading off to Flag Raising. Depending on their age, some cabins may need to wake up earlier.
8:10 am - Flag Raising
We meet in front of the Dining Hall each morning, and cabins take turns raising the flag. During this time, campers take turns setting up the tables for breakfast.
8:15 am - Breakfast
We sit at rectangle "lunchroom"-style tables and eat family-style. If you are a Single Parent (without a co-counselor), you should sit in the middle of the table to ensure proper supervision. If you have a co-counselor, you should sit on opposite sides of the table.
9:15 am - Cabin Clean up
Make the beds, sweep the floor and put away personal belongings. Cabins compete daily for the Cleanest Cabin Award. Clean-up is a great time to prepare your campers for their morning activities. If they go to the waterfront, ensure they are in their bathing suits. If they go to a land activity, ensure they wear the appropriate shoes.
9:40 am - Morning Activity Periods
There are two activity periods in the morning, each an hour long with a ten-minute transition time in between. If your cabin is at the waterfront in the morning and you are teaching a land activity, please take them there before heading to your Activity Period's meeting place. Once you are at your activity period's meeting space, account for everyone on your roster before you begin an activity. If you still need someone, please get in touch with a leadership member.
Noon - Lunch
We sit at rectangle "lunchroom"-style tables and eat family-style. If you are a Single Parent (without a co-counselor), you should sit in the middle of the table to ensure proper supervision. If you have a co-counselor, you should sit on opposite sides of the table.
12:45 pm - Siesta
The Siesta is a time for campers and staff to return to their cabin and decompress. Some campers may choose to take a nap; some may not. Please encourage your campers to respect those napping and participate in quiet activities such as card games, coloring, making bracelets or writing letters. Sieta is NOT a time for staff members to sleep or use their phones.
2:00 pm - Afternoon Activity Periods
There are two activity periods in the afternoon, each an hour long with a ten-minute transition time in between. If your cabin is at the waterfront in the afternoon, please take them to the waterfront before heading to your Activity Period's meeting place. Once you are at your activity period's meeting space, check your roster to account for everyone before starting your activity. If you still need someone, please get in touch with a leadership member.
4:10 pm - Snack & Cabin Time
We pass out an afternoon snack, and cabins spend time together.
4:50 pm - Twilight
Twilight Time is for "perceived free choice," when campers can move freely between staff-led activities within a particular location in camp.
5:50 pm - Flag Lowering
We meet in front of the Dining Hall each evening, and cabins take turns lowering the flag. During this time, campers take turns setting up the tables for dinner.
6:00 pm - Dinner
We sit at rectangle "lunchroom"-style tables and eat family-style. If you are a Single Parent (without a co-counselor), you should sit in the middle of the table to ensure proper supervision. If you have a co-counselor, you should sit on opposite sides of the table. On Tuesday nights, we cook our dinner over a fire!
7:00 pm - Cabin Time
This period is when you and your campers should go to your cabin and get ready for our Evening Program
7:30 pm - Evening Program
Sunday night is the opening campfire, at which you can get up and lead camp in a song or grab a few of your fellow counselors and put on a skit.
- Monday night is an all-camp game.
- Tuesday is a unit night; your unit leader will explain more to you at our Sunday Staff Meeting.
- Wednesday night is the Ice Cream Social (and dance!).
- Thursday night is our Closing Campfire.
9:00 pm - Cabin Time
This period is when you and your campers get ready for bed. Campers shower, brush their teeth and get into their PJs. Make sure you fit in some special cabin chats and check in with your campers to see how their day was.
10:00 pm - Bed Time
Establish a bedtime routine with your campers. You could read a chapter of a book or listen to calming music.
Roles Each Summer
Senior Counselors
Senior Counselors are individuals who have graduated from high school and older. Senior counselors are assigned to co-lead a cabin of summer campers. Senior Counselors are permitted to stay at camp over the weekend.
Junior Counselors
Junior Counselors use the same application as Senior Counselors and have many of the same responsibilities as Senior Counselors. On the weekends, Junior Counselors are not permitted to stay on camp property.
Counselor in Training Graduates
Individuals who have graduated from YMCA Camp Willson’s Counselors-in-Training (CIT) or the Wrangler-in-Training (WIT) program but have not yet graduated from high school may apply to be a Junior Counselor.
Application Process
We Can’t Wait To Work With You
Want to work at Camp? Here are the steps you need to make that happen!
Check back to find out when our hiring process starts (typically around the winter holidays). You can also sign up for our interest list to be notified when this happens.
Use your email to create a new account in our hiring system and select the Camp Willson job description that best fits the job you are applying for.
Overnight Cabin Counselor application
- Junior Counselors
- Senior Counselors
- Ranch Staff
Leadership Staff application
- Camp Support Specialists
- Leadership Staff
Once we receive your application, you will receive two emails. One is for an interview, and the other will ask you to submit references.
Interview Selection
Follow the link in the email to pick a time that works best for you. Then, follow the instructions, and a virtual meeting link will be set up automatically. BONUS: If you have a Gmail account, it should also be added to your calendar. If no times are available that work, email us to work out a time that does work for you.
We understand that things come up, and you may need to reschedule. If that happens, please locate the interview time confirmation email and follow the option to pick a new day/time.
References
Returning Staff
Individuals who are returning to work at camp and apply before March do not have to re-submit a reference form. If applying after March, we will email you the next steps.
Please complete your return staff questionnaire at least 24 hours before your interview. We will use your answers to create your interview questions.
New Staff
The YMCA of Central Ohio uses Checkster, a third-party site, to run reference checks. You will receive information about this process via email.
We ask that you submit the contact information for five trusted adults who can attest to your character. They can be workplace supervisors, club advisors, teachers/professors, extracurricular advisors, coaches/directors, religious leaders, etc. We ask that at least one of these people be related to you. It is a good habit to ask these individuals if they will be a reference for you and to give them a heads-up that they have something coming their way.
Individuals who are returning to work at camp and apply before March do not have to re-submit a reference form. If applying after March, we will email you the next steps.
Attend your Virtual Interview
You will receive an email with resources for acing your camp interview 24 hours before your interview. Make sure you check it out!
Await a Response
If we have all of your references in by the time of your interview and the interviews feel like you would be a good fit for the team, you will be offered a position pending a background check. You can wait to accept; however, we ask that you respect other applicants and our time by letting us know within 48 hours.
Sign Your Letter of Intent
To accept your position, please sign and return the letter of intent within 48 hours of receiving it.
Complete Your Background Check
You will receive an email with instructions on how to complete the background check.
Check Your Email
The first email you will receive after signing your letter of intent will include links to our staff manual, restorative practice training, staff intake form and a link to join our staff Slack. Please complete the training and intake form as soon as possible.
You will receive emails monthly and weekly as we approach the start of camp containing important onboarding information you need to complete before the start of camp.
