How working at Camp Skyline this summer can impact your life.

Becoming a camp counselor is the hardest, most rewarding, joy filled job you could have this summer. At Skyline we cultivate a group of around 65 seniors in high school and college age girls who love the Lord, love kids and love having fun.

Building lifelong friendships, making an impact on campers and gaining intentional mentors are just a few things counselors will take away from working at Camp Skyline.

Every summer, counselors meet new friends at camp. This bond begins at orientation where counselors are getting to know all of the staff and will continue creating a bond with one another as the summer progresses. Camp counselor friendships tend to be different because they share the same work experience, they live with these new friends and go through the summer together. These friendships last forever. Counselors become college roommates, they are in each others weddings, and they end up going through all stages of life together.

Building intentional relationships with your campers, helping them grow in their relationship with the Lord and getting to just be silly with campers this summer will change your life forever. Helping campers try new things and learn how to live in a space with others. There will be times where counselors help campers through a conflict and how to best communicate with others in a kind loving way.

Counselors are poured into during orientation by child psychologists, spiritual mentors, and also the admin team who speak with them during that week. We encourage our counselors daily with staff meetings and weekly small groups. After camp we visit counselors on their college campus and stay connected with them for the years to come. This summer we are also starting a hero program where we pair a counselor with an alum who will help mentor and guide them as they transition from college to career.

Let’s hear from some former counselors how choosing to work at summer at Camp Skyline impacted their lives forever.

Former counsleor, Barbara - “I had a 34 year career as a teacher/counselor and administrator and I feel that my experiences working at Skyline gave me a good foundation for working with young people in a school setting. Also, Eloise Temple(founder of Camp Skyline) was a wonderful mentor and friend.”

“I started working as a counselor in 1957 and still have close Skyline friends that were both fellow counselors and campers.”

Former counselor, Caroline Walden

“My first summer working at Camp Skyline was right after my freshman year of college at Alabama, I came to camp a little unsure of who I was and what I wanted to be about the rest of college & I can confidently say working at camp skyline changed my life for the better! Working at camp taught me that joy is found in giving our lives away and opened my heart to how much I loved investing in younger girls. I returned back to Alabama that fall and knew I wanted my college years to reflect the things I learned at camp. That year, I became a Volunteer Young Life Leader in Tuscaloosa- fast forward 8 years later, I work full time for Young Life where I get to spend my days telling teenagers in my town about the love of Jesus. I would not be who I am today or have the job that I do now if it weren’t for my summers in college that I spent working at Camp Skyline! Truly praise Jesus for Camp & how He uses being a camp counselor to change us for the better.”

“I loved working at camp because it’s the clearest glimpse of pure JOY! I’ve never laughed louder, played harder, experienced Jesus or built more authentic friendships like I have at Camp Skyline. At camp JOY is felt from the moment you wake your campers up in the morning until you say prayers with them at night. Some of my most cherished friendships and favorite memories have been spent on the mountain- whether that be riding mountain bikes, eating donuts on Sundays, singing around the campfire, braiding hair, nights out with co-counselors, sweet conversations with campers about the good & the hard- every hour at camp is well spent. Not only will you change the lives of so many girls, they will change yours for the better! There is no experience that compares than that of working at Camp Skyline!”

“My favorite memories at camp are all of the late nights spent in Riverside with my campers & co-counselors! Some of my favorite conversations and laughs EVER have been on nights spent around that campfire, rocking on the Riverside porch, and sitting on the floors of campers rooms. Truly the sweetest memories with some of my favorite people!”

Former camper and counselor, Newman Deaton

“I was a camper at Skyline for 9 years and a counselor for 6. Being a counselor taught me self-confidence, patience, acceptance, responsibility, flexibility, how to be a good leader and communicate well, and how important teamwork is. I also learned that positivity is extremely contagious, life isn’t perfect so mistakes are bound to happen and that is when we often grow the most. I can say without a doubt that my years at Skyline impacted both my life and especially my career. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but being a counselor at Skyline solidified that. So many of the skills I learned and used as a counselor I have carried over to my own classroom. Working at camp taught me that one of the most important roles as a teacher is simply being there: making sure my students know that they are cared for and that they matter. From teaching my students my favorite camp games to using the wonderful Bob Ditter strategies to handling behaviors and helping build confidence to enriching my students in their relationships and themselves, I have Camp Skyline to thank for that.”

“So walk down this mountain With your heart held high Follow in the footsteps of your maker With this love that’s gone before you And these people at your side If you offer up your broken cup You will taste the meaning of this life.” -Walk Down this Mountain by Bebo Norman

“There’s something so special about spending your summer on a mountain surrounded by passionate, strong, God loving women who are all there for the same reason as you. To this day some of my very best friends are friends I made at Skyline over 10 plus years ago. I know they are special and some of the truest because my dad remembers all their names, which is out of the ordinary for him! They’ve seen my highest highs and my lowest lows. I have been to and in their weddings, held their babies, traveled with them, sung our hearts out at concerts, laughed until we cried, and cried until we laughed. Not only are the friendships with counselors so special, but also the impact you can make on the campers. It’s one of the most wonderful feelings returning year after year seeing the joy on the campers’ faces when they see you again and getting to go through life with them; watching them play soccer and basketball, performing in musicals, doing stand up, meeting them for bagels, graduating high school and college, getting jobs in the real world, following their dreams, reaching their goals, helping them navigate the waters of growing up. I will forever be grateful to Skyline for the friendships I made…they really are some of the most powerful connections you could ever make.”