What is a Junior Counselor?
Junior Counselors are students who are currently 9th or 10th graders in High School.
Being a Junior Counselor (JC) at camp is a wonderful way to spend the summer – developing many invaluable life skills! The Tom Sawyer Junior Counselor Program is a leadership program for 9th and 10th graders. There is no cost for this program and many Junior Counselors use their experience at camp to fulfill any school-required community service hours as this is an unpaid position. Students do go through a formal application and interview process to become a Junior Counselor.
Before applying, students must be able to commit to participating in a whole session (2-3 weeks) and be able to attend mandatory training dates before the start of camp (see below).
Junior Counselors spend their time at camp learning how to become well rounded and skillful camp counselors. Junior Counselors are placed at a specific activity such as Pool, Horses, Archery, or Activities for their session. Here, they are supervised by Senior Counselors to help lead campers through a variety of activities. Many former Junior Counselors have said that their time at summer camp prepared them for future jobs, college, and other leadership opportunities.
What are the Details?
Applications open February 1, 2022!
Junior Counselors will be placed with one of our Specialist Programs: interacting, engaging, and working alongside senior staff to provide specialized programming for campers ages 3 –10 years old:
- Activities
- Archery
- Horses
- Pool
Junior Counselors must commit to working one of the following:
- June 13-June 24
- June 27-July 8 (No camp on July 4)
- July 11 – July 22
- July 25-August 12 (3 Weeks)
Note: You must be vaccinated and boosted by May 15th to be considered for a position as a Junior Counselor.
TSC has mandatory training dates for all Junior Counselors
- Saturday June 4
- Saturday June 11
- Junior Counselors MUST attend both trainings to be able to participate as a Junior Counselor.
There will be other optional training dates specific to each position (Horses, Pool, Archery, etc) prior to the first day of camp, where Junior Counselors can and are encouraged to participate.
How Do I Apply?
The Junior Counselor Application will open on February 1st
Now that you have read through the details above and confirmed your availability for the summer you are ready to apply!
Step 1: Applications open February 1, 2022. Click on the Apply Now button below. You will be taken to the Camper Registration side of our system as this is an unpaid position. If your family already has a log in, please use that to log in. If you are brand new to Tom Sawyer Camps, please have your grown-up/parent create an account. Once logged in to your account, first enter your age and grade which will allow the Junior Counselor Application to be visible. Prospective Junior Counselors please fill out the application and remember that this is a formal application, so we are looking for complete and thought through answers.
Step 2: Once your application is received a TSC Director will review it and send an email inviting you to an interview. The main form of communication will be emails to the address you provide so please check your emails often. Our interviews are a chance for you to learn more about Tom Sawyer Camps, what it would mean to be a Junior Counselor, and for the Tom Sawyer Staff to get to know you.
Step 3: If you are accepted to our Junior Counselor Program, your grown-up/parent must officially enroll you into our Summer Camp program. Details will be sent upon acceptance.
Note to Grown-Ups/Parents: The main goal of the Junior Counselor Program is to allow young adults the opportunity to take on a leadership role in a safe environment. It is also our hope that we are able to help them learn the independence and responsibility of applying for a position, going through an interview process, and hopefully gaining a leadership role with us. While there are parts of the process that will require your help, we strongly encourage prospective Junior Counselors to complete their applications themselves. Tom Sawyer is here to help them through this process so please encourage your Prospective Junior Counselor to reach out with any questions they (or you) may have.
If you have any questions about the Junior Counselor Program, please call our office at (626) 794-1156 or email kate@tsc.camp