Volunteering with Camp Casco Can Change Your Life

Aspen "Noodle" with campers during the One Mission Day Camp in 2024. 

Aspen, fondly known as Noodle, has volunteered with Camp Casco since 2018 as a counselor and on the year-round leadership team. Summer 2024 was her last summer with us for a while (but hopefully, not forever!) as she embarks on a new adventure: medical school! Read below to see how Camp Casco positively affected her life, including helping her stand out in her medical school applications and influence her future career:

You started volunteering with Camp Casco in 2018. How did you hear about Camp Casco, and what prompted you to sign up as a volunteer? 

I started volunteering with Camp Casco in 2018 after learning about the organization through a presentation at my college! Pup (a former overnight counselor) spoke so highly of the kids and organization and told us of the plans to start the Camp Casco Day Camp! Day Camp was happening so close to where I was from that I knew I had to try it out.

How did your role as a camp counselor (and Head Counselor at Day Camp) help you develop leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills that were helpful in your professional life? 

My role as a Head Counselor at camp has helped me develop leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills because you never know what might happen during a camp day. It could rain, the kids might not like an activity you’ve planned, or an essential supply for an activity might have been mistakenly left at home. I quickly developed the ability to find fun ways to problem solve, work with my counselor team, and determine the best way to solve whatever problems we faced throughout the day!

Did your involvement with Camp Casco influence your decision to apply to medical school? If so, how? 

I have always wanted to go to medical school, but my time at Camp Casco was instrumental in knowing that I loved working with kids and I had a specific interest in oncology. My experience with Camp Casco resulted in taking a job in oncology research prior to medical school, and I still continue to think about oncology as a future specialty. Furthermore, knowing that I love working with kids has been the absolute best part of Camp Casco, so I hope to treat pediatric patients in the future.

What is the biggest lesson you learned while being a camp counselor? How does it apply to the “real world” (jobs, school, etc) 

Things never go as planned! The best lesson I learned from Camp Casco is being able to adapt on the fly and come up with a new plan, and it applies to everything in my life.

How did you highlight your volunteer work with Camp Casco in your medical school application?

Camp Casco was a huge part of my medical school application because it was something I had done for six years by the time I applied to medical school! In my application, I highlighted the work I did on the year-round leadership team, as well as some of the more healthcare-related experiences I had as a counselor working with pediatric cancer patients and their families. While I never was responsible for treating our campers, talking with them about having cancer and learning about what that is like for a patient was really eye-opening for me. I think my time and commitment to the camp as a volunteer was really important as it showed my passion and commitment to something over the course of five years. 

What would you tell someone considering signing up as a Camp Casco volunteer? Specifically, what would you share about how volunteering for Camp Casco can help them professionally?

Sign up! This camp could literally change your life because of how amazing the kids and families that you will get to meet are. Regardless of your profession, you will learn skills that will help you outside of camp. I would argue that some of the most important skills I got to practice as a counselor were communicating effectively, not only with the campers but with your co-counselors, adapting and being resilient, and how to make anything fun, even if it’s just walking to the bathroom to wash our hands for snack. Honestly, the last one helps in your personal life as well; these kids will teach you to appreciate life and the joy you can find in little moments!

Are you ready to see how being a leader with Camp Casco can change your life? We are accepting applications for Day Camp Head Counselor and Camp Director positions.