blog

Cyril Tous

Cyril will be coming over to America to join our staff from his home in Brest, France, where he is currently studying at the Graduate School of Electronic Engineering.  Not only is Cyril a certified lifeguard, soccer player, and swimmer, but also has 13 years of Judo experience.  Cyril will be our martial arts instructor and is really looking forward to having an awesome summer here at Birch Hill!

Meg Ramey

Meg Ramey is a rising sophomore at Bates College in Maine currently studying Spanish and Education.  She is currently taking a one-month spring course at Bates where she is teaching ecology and wilderness conservation to middle school students at a local conservation area in Maine. At camp, Meg will be at the waterfront teaching canoeing and kayaking and enjoying the beautiful weather.

“I’m excited for camp!” – Meg

See below for a blurb from Cooper about Cooper.

Cooper Kitching

Cooper jamming out on his guitar

When asked to write a paragraph about myself I always think to start with my name is Cooper and I enjoy long walks on the beach and sunsets, but who doesn’t love those things?  Just to dig a little deeper I live in Athens Georgia and am in the process of finishing up my third year of college at University of Georgia where I am majoring in recreation and leisure studies.  Not only do I go to school at UGA but I sing in an all guys Acapella group called the UGA Accidentals (we are on youtube if you wanna look us up).  While at Camp I will be teaching waterskiing/wakeboarding and also driving the bus whenever needed.  I am getting excited for the summer and cannot wait to hang out will all of you and have some good times.

Ian Golembeski

Ian will be returning for his second year as a Camp Birch Hill counselor this summer and has recently been admitted to the University of Mary Washington to study elementary education. As a counselor, Ian is outgoing, enthusiastic, and athletic. Ian teaches almost every land sport, specializing in basketball, tennis, and ultimate frisbee. He can’t wait to get back to camp and have another amazing summer!

We never said we were smart…

The crew on the water tramp on a 50 degree day

So we finished cleaning up the beach and decided that it was a perfect time to put the water trampoline in the lake.  Joe, Jake, Holly and I braved the frigid water and rushing currents to anchor the trampoline safely in the deep part of the lake.  Luckily by the time all of you campers get here the water will be toasty warm and won’t require the wetsuits we were wearing that day.

Erica Keenan

Erica looking classy in black & white.

Hi my name is Erica Keenan and this will be my third year as a counselor at Camp Birch Hill. I am currently a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I enjoy playing sports and keeping active but my main hobby is dance. For the past two summers I have been the dance instructor and most likely will take the same role this year. I am looking forward to having another amazing summer with the campers and my fellow co-counselors! YAHOO!

Tom Doran

Tom Doran, wakeskating pro

Tom Doran, 20 years old from Bradenton, FL, will be joining us as a first time counselor out in the waterskiing program.  His specialty is wakeskating, as he displays in the picture above.  Tom attends Manatee Community College and says he loves anything that involves a board or water, which includes surfing, skateboarding, wakeskating, fishing, and spearfishing.  Tom is most looking forward to introducing wakeskating as a new activity for all Birch Hill Campers and he cannot wait for the summer!

Often when I describe my line of work I am met with incredulous faces.  Some of my former coworkers ask me when I will be ready to come back to work.  Other people laugh and ask me what I really do.  Some people cannot understand what it is that I do for the nine months out of the year that camp is not happening.  My grandmother asks me when I will be a doctor or a lawyer.  While I would love to go into detail to explain my job, I have to say that it is neither glamorous nor enviable, as you can see from the pictures below.

Couldn't be happier.

Some days are tougher than others.  For example, last week I got a call from the boat shop telling me that our new boat was ready.  I managed to drag myself to the lake to greet the new vessel and take it for its inaugural cruise.

Getting a feeling for the controls, taking in the sun.

As you can see, driving the boat is just a terrible task.  I hated every second of it and couldn’t wait to get back to shore.

Just cruisin'

Other days, while I hate doing it, I close my computer, put away the rakes and brooms, and reluctantly go out into the sun.  

Getting my rappel on.

I mean, who else would take the time to test out our rock wall for the season?  Trust me, the thought of the pine needles piling up for me to rake away festered in my mind the entire time I was climbing.

Fun!

So rest assured all you campers, former campers, counselors, parents, and friends, I am working hard and my job is indeed difficult…you really wouldn’t want it.

Taylor Patton

Taylor

Taylor just finished her sophomore year at Lake Superior State University where she is majoring in Political Science.  Taylor still runs track there and loves it! She will be teaching gymnastics, arts and crafts, and whatever else we decide to add to the list.  She is excited to come back and see all the new and old campers!

I was fortunate enough to get to meet Mollie-Jean down in Rhode Island for an interview and I know that she is going to be a camper favorite!  See below for what Mollie-Jean has to say about herself.

Mollie-Jean Burgess

Mollie-Jean

My name is Mollie-Jean Burgess and I’m 19 years old. I’ll be starting my junior year at Keene State College in the fall and I call Narragansett, RI my home. I’m an athletic training major at Keene and my dream is to one day be the head athletic trainer for the Boston Bruins. I currently hold the position in the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association as RI’s state student delegate and am a member of Keene’s chapter of Phi Epsilon Kappa, the physical education and athletic training honor society. I’ll be teaching soccer, kayaking, and land sports this summer at Birch Hill. The three things I couldn’t live without are my family and friends, chocolate, and my dog.