The Pennington will be hosting a summer camp for children aged 5 to 13. The camp named Camp Rec is focused on the well-being and  safety of its campers. The camp will begin on May 29 and is run by counselors who are students at the university. These students were chosen through a rigorous application process. Assistant Director of Youth Programs and Field Experience Kathy Cusimano is in charge of Camp Rec and all its workers. 

“I have the best counselors, but I have to make sure I have the best counselors,” said Cusimano. 

Last year’s summer camp had seven counselors and currently four have been hired. This week, they will be conducting interviews for more counselors. Cusimano has made sure that her counselors are equipped with multiple skills to ensure that the children of the camp will have a safe, fun and productive week at Camp Rec.

The counselors must be certified in CPR, attend Darkness to Life class and even take part in a food-training program. Cusimano explained why they put emphasis on hiring the most qualified students to work with children, 

“It takes a special kind of person to spend eight hours with a child,” said Cusimano. “We have to get in the pool. We go on off-campus field trips, so yeah they do have to be talented.” 

Camp Rec has three main principles woven into their program. Safety for the campers, monitoring to make sure each child has a fun camp experience and wellness of the campers, where each staff member treats the children like their own. Cusimano explained about how beneficial Camp Rec is for the children. 

“They’re meeting kids they haven’t met before and they have to spend a week with them, so it’s about team building,” said Cusimano. “It’s about bonding and building relationships as well as learning sports and different games and just stepping out and different activities.”

Cusimano estimates around 70 to 80 children will participate in this summer’s Camp Rec. Children attending the camp will get to take part in many fun and learning oriented activities. Cusimano says that when she was working on planning for Camp Rec, she strived for their event not to be just field trips but an adventure. 

  Cusimano expanded on what she believes the program offers to the community.

“We do so much, we introduce the kids to things they don’t get to do every day,” said Cusimano. “So each day is completely different and not only that but parents have work. We have culinary once a week. We have robotics once a week. So those are high school students that are coming in to do that, but that gives them their hours. That’s a great way that we’re partnering not only with the community, we’re also willing to pick up kids half day if they’re going to lab school for camp. We have late care so I feel like really we’re here for the kids to have an experience. It’s all about them making friends and bonding with counselors.”

Cusimano  talks about how the children and counselors, such as Ty’Desha Hall,  have been affected by the program.

“She came to me wanting just 40 hours a week and now she’s changed her major to work with children,” said Cusimano. “She’s one of my best counselors. She’s a mentor on campus. She’s amazing and she will be my lead counselor for the summer camp.” 

Hall is a junior and was a psychology major but soon found herself changing her major after finding her passion for working with children when she applied last year to work as a counselor at Camp Rec. Hall talks about her time working with the children.

“I could be having a bad day stressed about finals and I come here and they do something to make me laugh and it brightens my day,” said Hall.