Liberty Lake Day Camp:

A Community of Sunshine and Star Points

It is 8:15 a.m., and group leaders are headed down to their meeting spots to discuss the day’s agenda with their Division Leaders. Meanwhile, counselors remain at the top of the hill, engaging with campers in the “Before-care” program, starting at 7:00 a.m. They play “Nuke ‘Em” (a basic version of volleyball) with the ten-year old boys and build sandcastles with the turtles in “Sandland”.

A typical day at camp is never predictable, and there is always something incredible that results from it. I have been with this wonderful community for over ten years now, and it is like my second home. Liberty Lake Day Camp, located in Bordentown, New Jersey, is a discourse community of children, young adults, and adults with shared purpose, values and goals as we learn valuable life skills that follow us through our careers, as we continually develop strong connections within the community.

The ultimate goal of Liberty Lake Day Camp (LLDC) is to build upon life skills that are not taught in the classroom, such as teamwork and leadership, while developing friendships that last a lifetime. The tagline of the camp is, “The best summer, every summer!” but along with having a great time in the sunshine, teaching and learning life skills are the major emphasis during the ten-week summer season. Children who spend their summers at Liberty Lake learn life skills that will follow them through adulthood, into their career of choice.

I interviewed camp director, Andy Pritikin, and asked him, “Why did you start this camp? What do you value in a person and why do you think that is important to reflect on children and staff in camp”? His response was, “I started this camp because I can put my own creative ideas into my business as well as everyone else’s. As for what we value, the leadership team and I sat down five years ago and asked ourselves, ‘What are the most important qualities we want kids to learn at camp? That was when the “Star Points” were born. The Star Point qualities are so important to emphasize with staff because of the positive effect they will have when we seek to enter the workforce”. There are five “Star Points” at camp, which are integrity, aspiration, teamwork, friendship and independence. The ultimate goal at Liberty Lake is to teach the behaviors which lead to the qualities of the Star Points amongst all the campers and staff.

Technology is strictly prohibited at camp, so all intercommunication is personal, face-to-face. The camp day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with extended hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.), where all of the communication and relationships takes place. I value this intercommunication greatly, because it allows for strong friendships to flourish without the burden of staring at a screen for eight hours a day (the average for people my age). LLDC allows you to disconnect from the real world and take part in an extraordinary world with a “family” of staff and campers that love you.

Almost all ages can participate in camp, whether working as a staff member or participating as a camper. Camp is divided into different age divisions and separated into smaller groups by gender. Here’s a list of how the age groups differ: preschool aged children (3-5) are called Turtles, Freshman are 6-7 years old, Sophomores are 8-9 years old (this age group is the one that I work with), Juniors are 10-11 years old, and Seniors are 12-13 years old.

Rising freshman in high school can join what’s called a “Camper in Transition” (CIT) program, where they participate in a 4-week minimum experience full of important life skill lessons that involve the whole group of CITs working together in ways like cleaning up trash at the beach, and making blankets for soldiers in Afghanistan over the Fourth of July. Rising sophomores in high school can be part of Liberty Lake by joining the “Leader-In-Training” (LIT) program, which is 6 weeks minimum. The LITs do large amounts of volunteer work, and go through intensive workshops to build skills that will help when we go out into the workforce. In order to apply and to be admitted to these programs, you must send in your report card from your previous year of high school, answer questions on why you desire to participate in the program, and describe what you feel are your strengths and weaknesses.

Once you complete the leadership programs at Liberty Lake Day Camp, you can apply to be a counselor at the ages of 16 and 17. Counselors are assigned to a group of children and assist in activities throughout camp. 18 year olds and older are called “Group Leaders”, and are in charge of a group along with the assistance of a counselor. Another option is that if a person cannot come the whole summer (the hours are full time), they can be what’s named a “Floater”. Floaters replace any counselor or group leader who is absent from camp that day, and can be assigned to any group at any time.

I conducted a personal interview with all-star counselor, Juliana Rice, and asked her, “What is your favorite part of camp? Do you have anything to say to those who have never experienced it before”? She responded, “You create a bond with your campers and as they learn from you, you are also learning from them. I wish I could work at camp the rest of my life, and I believe that you are missing out on an amazing experience if you have never been to camp before”. I then asked, “How do you think camp has changed you”? Juliana replied, “It has allowed me to become more empathetic and sympathetic towards others and taught me how to problem-solve and make the best out of a bad situation”. Liberty Lake not only makes a huge impact on the campers, but the staff as well.

The semantics and the activities differ per division of camp. For example, in the genre of games, we tend to play “Duck, Duck, Goose” with Turtles and Freshmen. For older campers like Sophomores and Juniors, we play “Ga-Ga ball,”  a game in a wooden pit where you have to hit the ball against the wall to get someone out.” The older kids also play Four Square, or “Drip Drip Drop” (Duck, Duck, Goose with a water bucket that is dumped on the “Goose”). Different age groups call themselves by different names based on their age. For example, an 8-year old would call themselves a Sophomore, as well as the group that they are in, named after colleges. So he/she would say, “I am a Sophomore in the Temple group” (My group specifically).

Another genre within Liberty Lake Day Camp’s community is the usage of “Star Points”. Each week, the group leaders and counselors of each group sit in a circle with their campers and discuss the star point of the week. For example, if the week was “Independence”, the staff would facilitate discussion about examples of independence and how they could be portrayed at Liberty Lake.

In terms of expertise, the next level up for a staff member is to become an Assistant Division Leader (ADL), who helps supervise along with the Division Leaders (DLs) of the groups in the division, while helping communicate with the (sometimes excitable) parents. There are two division leaders and one assistant division leader per division, one for boys, one for girls, plus the ADL. Beyond those positions, the leadership team  in the camp office includes a Transportation Coordinator, who is responsible for the buses and transportation of all the children. There are also lifeguards for guarding the pool and the lake, and teaching swim lessons. Counselors and group leaders can make extra money by teaching swim lessons along with the lifeguards. There are two hiring coordinators who interview potential counselors and group leaders. Finally, there are the owners of Liberty Lake, Andy Pritikin and his wife Jill, who make the executive decisions for the camp.

Liberty Lake Day Camp is a discourse community, emphasized by the teaching and learning of life skills beyond the classroom, while building real friendships that can last a lifetime. Liberty Lake has all the six key elements of a discourse community, and as a result, is like a second home to me. I still get excited every time I drive down the driveway through the camp gates, waiting to see what the day will bring.

Annie LeBeau

Nursing Student, Rutgers University

Group Leader, Liberty Lake Day Camp