Summer 2006 - I was a little, wide-eyed eight-year-old. My parents dropped me off at a place where there were big white tents, a beautiful, flowing river and smiling faces of girls who I would become some of my best friends. This place was Camp Alleghany for Girls in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Little did I know that it would become a place where I would spend the next ten summers and that it would play a crucial role in that person I have become.

Fast forward 12 years, and each summer brings me the same joy that my first summer did. Through living in a tent with a counselor and three other campers, I learned about responsibility, cooperation, and togetherness. Though I loved the day-to-day activities of Arts & Crafts, Swimming and Archery, the reason I keep wanting to return comes from the life lessons that I learn each year. Becoming a counselor has been so rewarding. I have camp to thank for some of my most fond, childhood memories, some of my best friends across the country, the confidence and independence that are a large part of my character, and so much more.

Because I have attended Alleghany for so many years, I cannot physically imagine a summer without it. Yet, since coming to college, I have had a few thoughts about making what some may say is the “right choice:” getting a “real job” in the summer months in order to increase my chances of getting a job after I graduate. There is so much pressure to have an impressive resume to be able to boast. This being said, I have decided that there is almost no better summer “internship” than to work as a camp counselor. And I’m here to tell you why.

1. Camp brings out the best side of you.

When you’re in intern, your main goal is to impress your superiors. All that seems to matter is that you do, say, wear, and act appropriately and in a professional manor. At camp, I can dance around wearing a fanny pack, a t-shirt with a dog on it, and Chacos and have my campers laugh and dance along with me. Instances like these make me so confident in myself: I am not worrying about impressing anyone except myself. Camp teaches you to love yourself.

2. Being a camp counselor has taught me to be selfless, not selfish.

A group of parents have trusted you with their most prized position - their child - for three weeks. It is your responsibility to put keep the campers’ best interest in mind, but there is nothing better than being a role model for these young girls. All of your time is devoted to the kids, never about yourself.

3. At camp, you learn how to interact with other human beings.

This is a skill that will take you so far in all that you will do for the rest of your life. Oftentimes, college-aged interns spend their days fetching coffee, filing papers and doing the dirty-work - hardly learning the people skills needed to operate and succeed in the world.

4. Your job requires you to be a leader, a role-model, a cheerleader and a friend.

Some of the greatest memories have is laughing with my campers late at night, cheering on a little girl as she hits a bullseye or being there to support a girl in need.

When I tell people I’m returning to camp, they say, “Oh, that should be fun.” Yes, it’s going to be so much fun, but on top of being fun, I am going to learn lifelong skills. Sure, an internship may look good on paper, but employers will see all that your job as a counselor gave you: you will gain confidence and learn the most important life skills. Consider applying to be a summer camp counselor and skip the summer internship. There's nothing like what you’ll learn from spending your summer teaching campers to overcome obstacles, while climbing mountains of your own.