Graduation Year: 2003
What City/ State are you from? Ellington, Connecticut
What City/ State to you currently live in? Billerica, Massachusetts
Current Career Title: Enrollment Coordinator & Camp Administrator
Business/ Organization you work for: Camp Thoreau, Inc. which encompasses Camp Thoreau Day Camp as well as The Thoreau Club in Concord, MA
What was your Major? B.S. Wildlife
Did you switch majors during your time at Unity College? No – although when I originally applied to Unity I was planning on being a Parks Management major. At some point at a Freshman orientation event Jim Nelson convinced me to switch to Wildlife before I actually started – and this is the program I stuck with.
Did you start and finish your degree at Unity College or did you transfer in to Unity? Yes! Unity had been my #1 choice all along.
What was your favorite thing about your time at Unity College? Did you have a favorite tradition? My favorite thing about my time at Unity was really all the great like-minded friends I made (with whom I am still friends!) and just the overall fantastic community feel. My favorite tradition wasn’t really a school-sponsored thing so much as my group of friends always met up together at a central location between the dorms at a coordinated time and walked to dinner together in the dining hall. I’m not sure if the “line” still forms like it used to back then, but some of the best shenanigans happened while waiting in line with one another, and we all sat down and ate “family dinner” with one another every night – in our big, loud, semi-dysfunctional, hilarious “family”.
Where did you complete your internship(s) and what types of experiences did you have? I did an internship in the Education Department of the Philadelphia Zoo – I was part of their Education Ambassador program, which was a perfect mix of informal interpretation, formal education programming & assembly-type presentations, and animal care & handling. I LOVED IT!
Is your current job in your field of study, or did you end up going a different direction than you thought? Kind of…I mean, the great parts about my job now are still that I get to work around kids of all ages, and being “Camp Thoreau” we obviously have a strong emphasis on appreciation for the natural world as well as outdoor education and adventure. I found my love of “camp” at another job I had quite some time ago…and have always had “camp” in my life ever since, in one way or another – just in the background though, until the last several summers. Prior to this job, I worked for quite some time at Zoo New England, which, when I first had that position – was my dream job! I never quite expected I’d be where I am, but things all work out for a reason. Camp allows me the flexibility to work less hours during the school year (but still work!), my weekends are now free, and my daughter gets the amazing experience of being a life-long camper!
Tell us a little about your current job and what it entails: I really get to do a little bit of everything with Camp – but my primary responsibilities involve registering campers and making sure parents have all the information they need as well as having their paperwork filled out; acting as HR for our camp staff; preparing all of our licensing documents for the local Board of Health as well as our documents for the American Camp Association; and all sorts of other things like marketing, special events and managing the office when camp is in session.
