Fridays with Franky: Hey Potential Staff, Did You Know?

Happy Friday everyone! 

About a year ago, I wrote a post about some of the more specific questions we get about WeHaKee. Click here to check out that post, I covered cabin assignments, switch sessions, wildlife, and more! I thought I would try again, since Bob, Maggie, and Thatch have been travelling already to find our new WeHaKee community members for next summer. And specifically, new staff!

If you are a college student home for winter break, this is a great time to consider your summer options. You can get an application in and have less to worry about during your busy spring semester!

Head over to our staff page for lots of valuable information about working at WeHaKee. This is simply a more wordy behind-the-scenes look! 🙂

Here are 3 topics that potential staff are curious about:

Cabin Assignments

That’s right, the same topic I wrote about for campers! Our staff often wonder what age group they will have, how many girls will be in it, and who will be their co-counselor. 

Our cabins have no more than 8 girls (with the exception of the palace, which can hold 10 of the oldest campers). We keep that ratio of campers to staff low so you can build relationships with each of your campers. And of course for safety!

During staff training we will take some time to learn about typical development for the age groups we serve. By taking some time to learn the common characteristics of girls at different ages, our staff gets valuable information about what leading and caring for those girls looks like. We also spend time talking about our own work styles and strengths. 

After this time, all staff submit names of co-counselors they think they will work well with, and a ranking of the age groups they feel are within their wheelhouse. Assignments are made for one session based on that, and staff re-submit each session based on their experiences. So potentially you could work with 3 different co-counselors, giving you lots of chances to make lifelong friends!

Time Off

Counselors get one night off and one half day off a session, along with 2 or so hours a day. Between each session, there is also a 24 hour break. During this time, staff are still provided with meals and housing, so there is no need to leave camp if you want to stay and relax! 

If you want to get into town, someone will be happy to drive a camp vehicle into Winter or Hayward. A meal at a restaurant or a stop at the store for essentials is always a great option! Staff have found other creative things to do, like a tubing trip on a nearby river, or hiking at a state park. Northern Wisconsin is a really great place to be in the summer! Staff with their own cars are welcome to park them and use them on time off, and offering rides is a nice thing to do. However, we don’t want our staff to feel obligated to go into town if they don’t want to, so we do our best to provide rides ourselves.

Activity Assignments

Our cabin staff share their gifts and talents by acting as activity instructors during normal activity days. Our application process includes a space to indicate your experience levels for our many activities, and Maggie will ask you to speak more about it during your video interview. 

During staff training you will get an idea of the equipment, facilities, and past programming done in each activity area. Staff get a chance to indicate again which activities they could lead and assist in after seeing them in person at camp. 

After assignments are made, staff leading the same programs plan together to create new lesson ideas! Schedules for staff change each session, so there is always a chance to ask about leading more, or focusing on a few where you feel your talents lie. 

Some staff will fill their whole day teaching one or two things they are passionate about. Some staff dabble in lots of activity areas, and their schedule may be as varied as a campers! It’s all about the best fit for the staff member and the program!

Do you have any specific questions on your mind about working at WeHaKee? Send them to me!

Merry Christmas, and see you at camp!