The leadership program at Camp Betsey Cox is a three-year intensive summer program for young people who have the potential and ambition to grow to be impactful, imaginative people today and in the future. We hope too, that some of these talented people will choose to join our staff team at Betsey Cox after completing this program.
Their experiences and energy at camp and in their lives away from camp help our community continue to grow and evolve in unique ways. This is a program of great growth and we frequently write references for high school, work experiences, and higher education opportunities for these young people.
The program is challenging, rewarding and designed to inspire young people to be leaders, participants and decision makers in their communities. The elements of the program are focused on developing the following areas: interpersonal skills, personal growth, activity skills, community development, all infused with plenty of imagination and action.
Interpersonal skills
Our campers begin working on this skill area when they first arrive at camp. Campers live in cabins of about 8, and begin to learn to live within a close-knit community. Problem solving, communication and initiative are skills they learn and use in their cabins, around their dining table and throughout camp. As Older Campers (completing 8th grade), they enhance these skills. When campers join the BC Muggie Leader program (9th grade) they begin to give back to Betsey Cox where they have been inspired and nurtured as campers. Betsey Cox leaders learn to believe in themselves, in each other and in the importance of working as a team towards a common goal.
Personal Growth
Camp is a place to try new things. Camp invites young people to step outside what may be expected, and to excel in new ways yet to be discovered. The community offers each person the chance to be challenged, to gain self-confidence, to be creative, and to find a positive, contributing place in the world. Camp develops in each person an open mind to diversity of all kinds, a positive body image, and the ability to receive and accept constructive assessments from ourselves and others. Growth in new ways is something people should never stop striving for. Betsey Cox provides the setting and support that promotes personal growth and the program give them confidence to do more than they thought they could.
Activity Skills
Betsey Cox has many different activities! We hope that when campers enter the leadership program that they will gain experience in a plethora of camp activities. In the Older Camper program -8th grade camper year, campers begin working towards intermediate level skills in at least three activities. 9th grade First Year Muggie Leaders rotate weekly through camp’s activities acting as apprentices, improving their skills and learning to instruct. The Second Year Muggie Leader program for 10th graders includes specializes in one or two activities for the summer for S1 and S3, a service learning trip during S2 ,and a weekly rotation through the cabins to learn to work with all our camper age groups. Our 11th grade Staf live in cabins as part of the staff team. They help make announcements, plan special projects and become part of the staff team in one or two activities for the summer as well. We expect people to work and learn in many ways throughout the program.
Community Focus
Living together, playing, working, and laughing build a camp community. Each person lends their own flavor to the community, adding to it and making it richer. Our leadership program helps people identify and respect their role in our camp community and helps others learn while having fun. Living with intention; reaching out to the communities of their peers, camp, Pittsford, Vermont, the United States and the global community in which we all live is a goal we have for our leadership participants. Free of social media and most technologies, girls become genuine in their interactions and develop social resilience.
Imagination and Action
At the core of Betsey Cox’s mission is the development of young people who embody the camp’s spirit. This involves understanding that each camper is unique and brings something special to camp. Staff members help bring out the best in campers. Each person, at every level of the leadership training program, is a role model to younger campers and has the responsibility to model enthusiasm, creativity and inclusivity. Simple living results in an imaginative and positive approach to free time, program elements build in creative group and personal initiatives, and a service requirement offers each person the chance to put their goals into positive action outside camp.
Older Campers-8th grade
The Older camper program the first year of our intentional leadership program for campers who have completed grade eight. They can participate in any camp session. There are skill achievements to explore and focus on, community service off camp and on site, and personal challenges like a 5 mile hike and a cabin canoe overnight on a Vermont lake under the stars. We hold an on-site leadership conferences designed by our senior staff and leadership team.
BC First Year Muggie Leader- 9th grade
The BC Muggie Leader program the first year of our focused leadership program for girls who have completed grade nine. They can participate in either a 5 week or 8 week program design. The Muggie Leaders will rotate weekly through activities to learn teaching skills and improve their own skill set. There is community service both on and off camp, and community jobs that the group completes daily. The program includes wilderness skills and leadership training in the Green Mountains. We challenge them to hike the tallest mountain in Vermont, Mt Mansfield. They plan and execute an evening program for the whole camp once a week. First Years work in one activity per week. Changing activities weekly allows them to enhance their skills while learning about how to teach a range of ages, about how to develop and use a variety of teaching styles and how to plan daily activities for campers. Cabin work for Muggie Leaders begins after they have received BC training in working with campers. They live with staff who mentor them, and whose job descriptions include the delivery of the leadership program curriculum. First Year Muggie Leaders earn a small stipend for their work over the course of the summer and they enjoy a supervised day or evening off, as well.
Second Year Muggie Leaders-10th grade
The Second Year Muggie Leader program is an eight-week program designed primarily for campers who have completed the First year Muggie Leader program, and have completed grade 10 in school. Acceptance into the Second year is through a selective process based on a written application and on the recommendation of the camp staff.
The program includes a comprehensive set of leadership activities including weekly training sessions in leadership and camp counseling. In-camp training consists of young people developing their leadership competencies by assisting in activities and working in camper cabins on a weekly rotation under the supervision of the cabin staff. The second session of camp (two weeks) is spent participating in a service-learning project at a domestic or overseas location. We collaborate with a variety of organizations to make a difference in the world. Locations include Guatemala, Belize, Panama, Ecuador, Cuba, Turkey, Iceland, Morocco and Spain, Bolivia, Arizona and the Navajo Nation, Olympic Peninsula and the Suquamish people, and a Vermont intensive during summer 2021.They return to camp for Session 3 and share their experiences with us for the final three weeks of camp.
Staf – 11th grade
T
he Staf year (Staf without the final F), of our Leadership program is an eight week program designed primarily for people who have successfully completed the Second Year Muggie Leader program, and have completed grade 11 in school. It is an application and reference -based acceptance. These Staf are a strong positive force in our community. Staf join camper cabins as members of the staff team. Staf focus on up to two specific activities over the course of the summer, one at a time and while in camp. These activities are chosen by each person based on experiences in the Second Year Muggie Leader program the previous year. Staf continue to share in the work of the community, help develop and run Saturday theme day activities and management of the Sunday seminar programs. They earn a stipend for their work over the course of the summer and they enjoy a few days/evenings off, as well. Staf meet regularly to continue training as camp counselors and more broadly, as leaders.
Social privileges with their counterparts at Sangamon for each level of the leadership program are also theirs to enjoy if they choose to do so.
Evaluations for the Leadership Program
As the Leaders work with different staff members in cabins and activities, staff will be asked to evaluate their performance on a weekly basis. The evaluation forms are designed to be discussed with each person on an individual basis so they can build their strengths and improve on areas that need attention. The individual meetings will take place at least three-times per summer, but people are encouraged to ask for more regular feedback. If there are any issues in their work, those will be discussed as they arise.
We value the input we receive from these evaluations as they are a major part of the leadership training and allow us to keep a check on progress throughout the summer.
Some of the things addressed in the forms are:
- Communication with peers, staff and campers
- Willingness to cooperate
- Energy and initiative
- Ability to finish tasks
- Sense of responsibility
- Use of time
- Interest in leadership
- Response to constructive feedback
- Involved and engaged with camp as a whole
- Dependability and promptness
- Active listening skills
- Respect for staff and campers
- Positive Effort
