At the age of 16, I was hired for an amazing job. That job – titled “camp counselor” – is still, to this day, the best job I’ve ever had. It offered me invaluable skill-building such as leadership, responsibility and problem solving. More importantly, it’s where I discovered a sense of purpose, meaningful work, confidence and developed an affinity for working with children, young adults and families and for strengthening community.

Fast forward more than 20 years when my current role at the JCC – Division Director, Children, Youth & Family, Day Camping and Teen Engagement – connected me with the Penn Hills Charter School for Entrepreneurship as a means of further informing our teen entrepreneurship pilot, Launch, generously funded by the Segal Family Foundation. While my discussions with the charter school were progressing, a very special first grade teacher who happened to be on the school’s staff reached out to me.

Jasmine Thompson’s first job was as a Tira counselor for kindergarten-aged children at J&R Day Camp in 2011. I was a unit head at the time, so Jasmine and I got to know each other a little bit. It was at J&R that summer that Jasmine discovered her love for working with young children. She would go on to spend more of her high school and college years at the JCC as a part of our after-school program and as an educator in our Early Childhood Development Center before moving on to become a full-time teacher, first at Pittsburgh Westinghouse Academy and then at the charter school.

Jasmine reached out to invite me into her classroom to teach her students about Hanukkah as a part of their “holidays around the world” lesson. Reading about the Maccabees, playing dreidel, eating gelt and answering the many questions of 20 curious, enthusiastic first graders was a real treat, not just for the opportunity to help these eager students learn more about our rich, vibrant Pittsburgh community but for the opportunity to see how Jasmine had progressed in her career and the creative ways in which she put so much of what she learned during her time at the JCC to use.

Our focus has evolved over the past few years across all our camp programs where we now put as much emphasis on the staff experience as we do on the camper experience. We know that our staff is the bedrock of camp, creating formative adventures and fostering connections that stay with our campers long past the summer. For so many of our staff, working at camp is their first job, their first opportunity to work with children and their first chance to build professional skills and confidence. And in many cases, the return on our investment in staff – through enhanced training and support, internships for college credit, increased rates of pay and retention bonuses and good ‘ole fashioned camp swag – isn’t only evident during the summer they are employed. Sometimes you never know the positive impact that working at a JCCPGH day or overnight camp can have until it comes full circle years later and a former young counselor turned first grade teacher excitedly invites you into her classroom!

As we close out 2023 and look ahead to a new year, I hope it’s one filled for you and your families with the same meaning and purpose that Jasmine, myself and the many other former camp staff feel from our shared love for this important work.

Wishing you and your families a Shabbat shalom,

Rachael Speck
Division Director, Children, Youth & Family, Day Camping and Teen Engagement