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Noah Kahan performs at Coniston

This summer, we were excited to have Noah Kahan, musician and Coniston alumnus, revisit Coniston and perform for our staff. He was welcomed back with open arms, and all staff were very excited to meet him and see him play live. 

American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan released his first single ‘Young Blood’ in 2017. Since then, his music career has taken off with Noah collaborating with artists such as George Ezra, James Bay and Dean Lewis. He released his first album ‘Busyhead’ in 2019, taking his music on a world tour in the same year. In 2021 Noah headlined his ‘I Am / I Was’ tour, and after releasing his latest song ‘Stick Season’ this year, Noah treated the crowds at Red Rocks to a powerful set showcasing his new music. 

Before his performance for our staff, Noah took a trip down memory lane, exploring the grounds, revisiting his old cabins and spending the last day of Session 2 with campers. Noah joined in on all the traditional closing night activities, including attending John Tilley’s vespers. He was particularly thrilled to walk down the staff trail to Boys Vespers. It was a magical moment when Noah joined us for dinner in the dining hall and the whole of Camp sang one of his songs at the top of their lungs! Noah even attended closing campfire and played guitar while campers sang. He also joined our staff in performing traditional Camp songs at our closing candlelight ceremony. 

Noah performed an acoustic set of his music, featuring songs such as ‘Stick Season’ and ‘Young Blood’, as well as treating the staff to a first performance of an unreleased song. Amidst his lakeside show, he invited staff member Grace Ferguson to join him onstage to sing Noah’s song ‘Hurt Somebody’ as a duet. This was a very special moment not only for Grace, who shares Noah’s passion for music, but for the entire camp, seeing alumni and current staff coming together and giving a heartfelt performance that was met with excited applause from other staff members. 

Noah’s passion for music was clear back when he was a camper from age 8 to 15 (2005-2012), as he often performed in our talent show. On his visit, he spoke about his experiences performing in the talent shows: “My first time I ever played an original song was at the talent show, and it was really cool ‘cause everyone here was super supportive of it… I got inspired to write more.” “I came second place every year to the kid who made car noises”. He was delighted to finally receive the 1st place award staff members had made for him, presenting it to him after his moving performance.

Noah’s music paired with the Coniston scenery created a truly spectacular experience for all, and we very much hope that Noah will be back. His career success is no surprise and we were very grateful he took the time to revisit us here at Camp.
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“A Home Away from Home” – Sophie Burleigh, Office Assistant

Throughout school and University, I always felt that things were under control; each step of life was laid out before me and with friends and family around, support was never too far away. However, after graduating, for the first time in my life I had no idea what was next. After some mild panic followed by a Google search for ‘What can you do with an English degree?’, I found myself on a flight to China to start my new job as an English teacher. 

Whilst on the plane, I remember all manner of logistical worries racing through my mind: ‘What will my new apartment look like?’ ‘Did I pack the right clothes?’ ‘How long will my travel to work be?’. I felt overwhelmed, unsure of how I would manage on my own in a culture so far removed from what I knew. I was wrapped up in the ‘How?’s the ‘Where?’s and the ‘When?’s. But what I was forgetting to ask was ‘Who?’. 

On my first day, I met two Chinese co-workers that helped me move into my apartment. On the second, they introduced me to their friends over a picnic in the park. By the end of the week I was FaceTiming my parents telling them all about the friends I had made and the new people I was meeting every day. My apartment was fine, I packed just enough T-shirts, and my route into work took about 10 minutes. The things that seemed daunting and detrimental to my happiness soon became the backdrop for a life-changing adventure filled with people, experience and life. 

I look back on my time in China as finding a home away from home. When I say this, I don’t picture an apartment, house or hotel room. Rather, it’s a feeling that the people around me created. A feeling of being your true self, a feeling of acceptance and warmth. A feeling that all the little problems are just that, little. It isn’t tied to a location and it isn’t measurable. It can’t fit into your suitcase, but it can come with you wherever you go. 

I had never been to a summer camp before this year. I had never been a camper and had no idea what was in store when I enrolled as a staff member for Camp Coniston. But I soon found that what I had learned in China was just as true all the way over in Grantham, New Hampshire; you don’t have to have your name on the mailbox to be able to call somewhere home. 

From the moment I arrived at Camp, met by warm, welcoming people with s’mores in hand, I understood why no one can seem to stay away from Coniston.  It’s a rare gift, somewhere you can be your true authentic self, surrounded by people cheering you on, whether they know you or not. This sense of belonging reached a magical peak when I was invited to run into the lake alongside all my friends (who happened to be fellow international staff members). Coniston campers and staff lined the banks of the lake and cheered us down the hill. I felt truly one of a team, an indispensable part of one big special moment in time. It’s true when people say Coniston is like one big family; It’s a home away from home.

                                                                                                                                —Sophie

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International Staff Run into the Lake

For those of you lucky enough to have been a CIT at Coniston, you know how much of an exciting and important part of your experience running into the lake is. After working together as a group and completing a life-changing trip, whether that was hiking Mount Washington, the Grand Canyon, Mount Katahdin or any of the other amazing CIT trips, running into the lake is the moment where you celebrate with your friends for completing that challenging experience with the entire Camp community cheering you on. It is a moment that you see every summer as a Camper and hope that one day you will get the chance to experience.

This summer we had over 40 international staff members and they were a truly wonderful group of people. We had staff from the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Mexico, Colombia and New Zealand. Our international staff members were not Coniston campers or CITs. For the past six years at Coniston we have worked to help our international staff feel welcome in our community, and to help them feel that Camp is as much their home as it is anyone that grew up as a camper here. So this year we decided it was time to give the international staff their chance to run in the lake.

During our orientation week with these staff members, they were given the opportunity to go to the top of Mount Washington, to give them an insight of what many of our CITs experience. It was a great day and the group loved seeing beautiful views from the top. After working hard all summer and bonding as a group, we put forward the idea of them running into the lake. They were absolutely thrilled. This is something they never thought they would have the opportunity to do.

So on the last day of Session 4, our international staff gathered on the A-Field where we talked about their successes of the summer before all piling into two of our Coniston buses to drive through Girls Camp through to the lakefront. Anxiety set in as we weren’t sure how this new tradition would be interpreted by the rest of Camp, but to our relief all staff and campers were by the lake cheering at the top of their lungs for the international staff!

We could hear the song ‘Don’t stop me now’, by Queen (a song voted on by the international staff to play), being blasted through the speakers. As they got out of the buses and ran down the hill into the lake, the cheers from the crowd were deafening. Other staff members were ready and waiting to hug all of their international friends. Seeing this group of international staff be so welcomed and accepted into the Coniston community during this new tradition was something we will never forget. 

Some other international staff members shared what this new tradition meant to them:

Ale Campomanes, Cabin Counselor from Puebla, Mexico:

Running into the lake was literally my best memory of camp. The connection that the international group created that day was unreal and emotional. I love this new tradition!

Emily Barron, Horseback staff from East Yorkshire, England:

As an international member of staff, being able to run into the lake with all the other international staff members helped make me feel more a part of Camp and a part of their traditions. It made us all feel special and appreciated for the hard work we had put into Camp over the summer. It also definitely brought us all closer and showed how much we all appreciate having one another there.

Daryl Bogues, Overnight Coordinator from Banbridge, Northern Ireland:

For me, someone who was never a CIT, getting to run into the lake was an incredible experience to celebrate the unbelievable work the international staff have done all summer. To do it with a group of friends made it even better. I hope that this tradition sticks on to celebrate each new group of internationals that come to Camp each summer.

Lucy Barham, Cabin Counselor from Worcestershire, England:

The lake run is something that is really important to current staff members who finished their CIT trip, and it’s been a joy all summer getting to watch this years CITs run in, so it was really wonderful to be able to experience that myself and have the American staff be so supportive and excited that we got to do it!
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Honor Heisler-CIT Director-Vespers

I’ll be honest, I am a little nervous to be sitting here in front of all of you. The last time that I sat in this exact place giving a Vespers was three years ago in the summer of 2019. So today I want to tell you guys the story of how I ended up back here sitting in the vespers ring, years after my last summer at Camp.

There is a particular conversation or phrase that I hear a lot, which is that one day we will all have to move past places like Camp and enter the “real world”.

One day we will be too old, or need to focus on school or a career rather than coming back to Camp every summer. I’ll be honest, for a long time I told myself the same thing. That Camp was a representation of my childhood and one day I would have to let go of this place in order to “become an adult”. But Camp has always been a part of my life, and a source of comfort for me. The idea of having to let it go was one that weighed heavily on me.

My last summer on staff was in 2019, and it was one of the hardest summers in my life for a multitude of reasons. I was entering the tough transition from high school to college, I had to stop rowing (which had been a dominating part of my life up to that point) and I was still processing the sudden deaths of several close friends and mentors. My life outside of Camp had changed dramatically and I had personally changed dramatically, but I expected myself to be the same person and the same counselor I was the year prior. I left Camp that summer frustrated with myself, feeling defeated and insecure about my abilities. But I knew how much I loved this place and what it meant to me, so I still planned to return in the summer of 2020.

When Camp was cancelled for the summer due to the pandemic, I took it as a sign. Maybe I kept coming back to Camp each summer because it was a comfortable routing, and instead of having to make the difficult choice to stop coming back myself, it was made for me by COVID.

Maybe it was time to start planning for the future and to look for internships and jobs that were more specific to my future career path. So that’s what I did. I spent my first two summers in over 10 years away from the lake. Of course I missed being here at Camp a lot, but I had this idea that because I chose to not come back that my summers at Coniston were over completely.

In the two summers I was away, I lived pretty much an entirely different life. Last summer I had the opportunity to work as an investigative intern for a very small, very understaffed civil rights department within the Colorado State Government. During that time, I was able to do some incredibly interesting and inspiring work. However, even more interesting to me, was how much I looked back at my time at Coniston to help me in what seemed like the polar opposite work environment. The lessons I had learned at Camp pushed me through my internship and helped me in ways I never expected. Again in the fall, I found myself using the skills I learned at Camp when I went abroad to South Korea for 5 months. Never in a million years did I expect to be comfortable enough to be alone so far from home, but I had lived at Camp every summer for 10 years! So why not?

After all that, I wasn’t surprised to find myself sitting down in December, and opening up the application to be a CIT Director this summer. Although I originally believed that the pandemic had ended my time at Camp, it is what actually brough me back here.

In my time away from Camp, I found my love for Camp again. More importantly, I learned how to love myself again.

I realized that to grow and change as a person did not mean giving up or turning your back on the places and experiences from your past. Evolving as a person doesn’t make you someone new, and places like Camp can never just be left behind as symbols of who we once were. I have and will continue to have Camp as a part of myself, just as all my experiences in life have become a part of me. Several years from now, maybe when I choose not to spend my summer on the lake, I won’t see it as me leaving Camp behind. But rather bringing everything that makes this place special and everything I have learned along with me.

And I hope regardless of where you all see yourself in 5 or 10 years, that you will continue to embrace the things that make you who you are. Because there is no difference between “Camp” and “the real world”. They are one in the same.

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Daryl Bogues-Overnight Coordinator-Vespers

As most of my friends or anyone who knows me well would know I am not the biggest of public speakers. So writing and delivering a vesper, for me was not going to be an easy job. We all have previous ones that we will always remember. So I decided to look at these for motivation.
 
Now, I do have a page where I save quotes that I find either enjoyable or motivational to read occasionally. So I decided to use one of these quotes for my vesper.
 
Some of you may know it; it goes a long the lines of, ‘yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. And that is why it is called the present.’ For me, I feel this is brilliant for camp. We should appreciate what we have with us here and live in the moment.
 
For most of us our camp experience may only last 14 days each summer.  For some of us it may be our first, third or unfortunately our final year at Coniston.
 
Camp provides us with so many opportunities that we may not get anywhere else. Where else can you climb the ropes tower; jump off the high dive; paint in arts and crafts; act in the drama show; or even go on an overnight, sleeping around the lake surrounding by the stars, all in one place.
 
As some of you may know Coniston has a number of different pillars or values that they focus upon, inclusion being one. For me I feel that this is one of the most important. It makes us all feel welcomed and at home here. We all come from different places, all with different personalities. But it is all of us that helps make camp the great place it is. Creating bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime.
 
Some of my greatest memories have been at Coniston, even though I have only spent three summers here.
 
Before I got here I knew no one, and it was the first time I had ever been to America. As soon as I got off the bus I didn’t know what to expect, but I was greeted by staff and instantly felt welcomed. I have since met some of my greatest friends here. Most of these friendships have helped create memories that I will never forget. Much as the time in 2018 when Colin had convinced all of camp that it was my birthday, only about 6 months too late. Or even in 2019, the simplest times of kayaking the lake with some of the overnights team; Matt, Izzy or Zoe. It’s these friendships and memories that I hope will last forever. And I hope all of you are able to say the same.
 
There is still plenty of time left to try new things, live in the moment and create new friendships.
 
The things we regret most, are the things we wished we had done sooner.
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Nicole Reiss-Brattle Book Shop Manager and Chair of ABAA Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair-Coniston: 1988-2002

How old were you when you started Camp?

I was 9 or 10!

How were you introduced to Coniston?

A family friend told us about it, but their child did not end up going. Luckily I had the opportunity and was at Coniston for 15 years.

Did you attend college, and if so, what did you study?

I went to Boston University and my major was Archaeology with a minor in Spanish.

What is your current job? 

I am the manager of the Brattle Book Shop in Boston, MA. It is one of the oldest and largest antiquarian book shops in America. I’m also the Chair of the ABAA Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair.

How has your career journey evolved?
 
I started at the Brattle in ’99- the autumn after graduation and I have been here ever since. The first few summers I took off from selling rare books and was Girls Camp Director.
 
Are there any skills or traits you gained at Coniston that you use in your professional life?
 

Being in leadership roles (’98 CIT Director, ’99 LIT Dir., Girls Camp Dir.) at Coniston helped me hone my management style. It is a lot easier to manage 8-10 book sellers than all of Girls Camp! 

I hire a lot of young folks who are looking for a job right out of school. If I see that they have camp experience on their resume, I usually set up an interview. I know they are flexible, can creatively problem solve, good dealing with all types of people, and can think on their feet.

Are there any specific memories from your time at Coniston that are still impactful to you?
 

I am still great friends with many of my fellow ’92 CITs and also a few other people that I was on staff with. They are “my people.” I’m so fortunate to have found such wonderful life-long friends at Coniston.

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Nick Newberry-High School Science Teacher-Coniston: 2004-2022

How old were you when you started Camp?

I was 10 years old!

How were you introduced to Coniston?

Both of my parents went to summer camp and wanted me to have the summer camp experience, too; however, for various reasons attending either of the camps they had gone to as children wasn’t going to work. So, my mom turned to Google and started researching summer camps in New England. After extensive research, she landed on Coniston. When I came here as a camper for the first time I knew no one.

Did you attend college, and if so, what did you study?

Yes! I studied Biology and Environmental Science at the College of William & Mary!

What is your current job? 

I am a high school biology and environmental science teacher.

How has your career journey evolved?
 
Immediately after graduating undergrad, I took a summertime seasonal job in Fairbanks, Alaska working for the Department of Fish & Game studying migratory songbirds. This was only a temporary position so when it ended I returned home to Virginia to figure out my next steps. A call from a professor ended up leading to a full-time job as an environmental consultant at an engineering firm. That job exposed me to many different aspects of applied environmental science from wetland permitting to bat, bird, plant, and reptile surveys.
 
After nearly 3 years at that job, I decided to switch things up in order to work somewhere with a mission that aligned more with my values of working towards a better future for people and the planet. A conversation with a bird-watching mentor from my teenage years led to a job as an intern at the Highland School, an independent private school in Northern Virginia. During my intern year, I taught semester-long elective classes in marine biology and ecology and supported a teacher who was instructing virtually. Now, I am a full-time high school science teacher, teaching AP Environmental Science, Biology, Marine Biology, and Ecology.
 
Did Coniston influence your ability to create this journey?

 

Absolutely. I never had an interest (that I was aware of) in teaching. Truthfully, for a long time, I didn’t think all that highly of the career of teaching because of my perception of teachers as people who “couldn’t make it” in the “real world”, and because of the low pay. Because of that mentality and a focus on biological research while an undergraduate, I never took any classes in education, secondary or otherwise. When I threw myself into teaching I leaned on the only substantial experience I had working with kids, which was being a camp counselor at Coniston. I like to think that I teach like a camp counselor in that I try to do little things to keep life in the classroom light and fresh, and I tend to focus heavily on social-emotional education. The actual nuts and bolts of teaching, such as curriculum and lesson planning, I have been figuring out as I go. For the record, I now think teaching is an incredible career that can be incredibly difficult but also extremely rewarding.

I also believe that Coniston increased my willingness to take risks, like beginning a new career with close to zero preparation. As a 16-year-old at the CIT-led vespers, every CIT was tasked with sharing one sentence about how their time at camp had influenced them. The one sentence of wisdom that I shared was, “At camp I have learned to become comfortable going outside of my comfort zone”, meaning that taking big risks and jumping headfirst into the unknown was something that I felt more confident in doing. I strongly believe that this mentality developed at camp has played a large role in my career and life in general.

Are there any skills or traits you gained at Coniston that you use in your professional life?
 

Thinking on my feet! Expressing gratitude. Working with children. Collaboration. Being creative. Working while exhausted. Listening to and empathizing with others. Building relationships.

Are there any specific memories from your time at Coniston that are still impactful to you?
 

Thanks to the annual schedule of a teacher, I have been able to return to camp after a 7-year hiatus, so I have many fresh memories to pull from as well as older ones from my time as a cabin counselor. At this point, it’s easiest for me to identify what has been most impactful to me over the past two summers from my time working in the kitchen and as the camp naturalist since those experiences are freshest in my mind. For myself and many of my friends, the stress, isolation, and uncertainty of the pandemic caused me to become more reserved and withdrawn and dulled my social skills. Returning here to this environment of constant interaction with friendly, kind, and interesting people has helped me redevelop and build on atrophied interpersonal skills. 

My memories now are not so much specific big events, but a mosaic of smaller events and conversations with dozens of people on hundreds of occasions. That being said, there are some sunset paddles, reunions, and social events that I will remember for a long time. I also have loved sharing memories with others. This summer, for example, a former cabin counselor of mine from my last year as a camper, Steve Dacey, visited for an afternoon. I enjoyed sharing with him my memory of the overnight solo our cabin had on top of Penny Royal during the Perseid meteor shower and how I remember my cabinmates and myself being very open and vulnerable with each other.

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Annika Randall-Fellow-Vespers

My name is Annika. Annika means gracious. Annika is the African pronunciation of the Swedish name Ahnika. My Dad is African American and my Mom is Swedish so together my name is the perfect combination of everything I am made up of.

I am made up of all the people I’ve encountered and all of the things I have experienced. I hold the warmth of strangers waiting to become new friends on check-in day, the butterflies and nerves before jumping off the high dive, the laughter of my best friends, the knowledge of a new recipe learned at cooking. I hold the wisdom of each vesper, the silent giggles and shhh’s at siesta. I am made up of all these people, all you people, and these moments with each person you’ve met and every moment you’ve had this session.

Take some time to think of the knowledge, lessons and love you have gained from those and this place surrounding you. All of these make up who you are.

I would like to say a few examples that make up who I am this session.

From Zoe, I am made up of the comfort and feeling of home I have with her.

From Annie, I am make up of being silly and embracing craziness.

From Yolanda, I am made up of the power a big welcoming smile can have on a new friend.

From everyone here, I am made up of admiration for you all for taking the huge leap of adventure for coming to Camp with so many unknowns, along with many others. These people inspire me and have left a mark on who I am this session.

Every person and every moment influences who you are. No matter where we originate from, Sweden or Africa, you are the perfect combination of everyone and thing in life. I encourage you to spend the rest of this session (and your whole life) embracing all that you can collect from those with different backgrounds, lifestyles, experiences and add these to what makes you up. We are all so special and uniquely ourselves.

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Colin Grip-Trip Leader-Vespers

   So it’s been a little while since the last time I was at camp. I started as a camper in 2010, was a CIT in 2015, and spent the next 3 summers after that on staff. But in 2018, I knew it would be my last summer. So with the exception of helping out for a week in 2019, I left. I moved on, lived my life, and left camp in the rear-view. 

          So when I found out I had the chance to come back this summer, I was nervous. Every single person from my CIT year is gone, almost all of my friends from staff are gone, and even most of my old campers have left. I spent half of my life at camp, but as the years went by away from it, it began to seem more distant. Some memories started to fade, I went longer and longer without seeing old friends, and seeing camp continue every summer without me made my time there begin to feel insignificant. So I was excited to be coming back this summer, but I was also scared, and didn’t know what to expect.

          That is, until I moved in yesterday, and it felt like I was returning home. I’ve seen some of my old friends from staff, I’m lucky enough to see my old campers being the new leaders of camp, and even a couple of my old counselors are still kicking around somehow. I’ve been reminded of the things I did in my time, from little things like being asked about a game we made up in landsports 4 years ago, to the important stuff, like an old camper sharing how my Co and I helped influence his life. In just one day back, you have all made me feel like I never left. After forgetting much of it over the years, you’ve all reminded me of my impact on camp, but more importantly, all of your impact on me.

           So why does this matter, why am I telling you this now? It’s because I’m not unique. Every person that steps foot at camp leaves an impact. I’ve see the current staff talking about the impact my old friends had on them as counselors, I see the way they interact with you campers to give you the best 2 weeks possible, and I see the way you campers bring the life and energy that makes camp special. Every single person in this ring, whether it’s your 1st year or your 20th, has made Coniston what it is today, and that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

          In a couple of days, this session will be over. Some of us will be here the rest of the summer, some of us will be back next year, and for some of us this might be it. No matter what happens though, whatever you do, don’t take these last days for granted. 

           I challenge you to use these last days to make the best and biggest impact on the rest of camp that you possibly can.

           I challenge you to say thanks to the people who have left an impact on you over the last two weeks, two years, or however long you’ve been at camp.

           And most importantly, I need you to never forget how important you are to this place, and your ability to impact people’s lives. Because as you’ve all taught me, you’ll always have a home back here on the lake.

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Jen Whitman-Middle School Teacher-Coniston: 2003-2015

How old were you when you started Camp?

I was 12 when I first came to camp!

How were you introduced to Coniston?

My friend at school introduced me!

Did you attend college, and if so, what did you study?

For college, I went to Boston University and majored in mass communication and minored in psychology and education. For graduate school, I went to Wheelock College and got my masters in integrated elementary and special education.

What is your current job? 

I currently work at Kennedy Middle School in Natick, MA. I teach 6th grade English and social studies. I also coach track!

How has your career journey evolved?
 

I always knew that I wanted to work with kids and that there was a chance that I would become a teacher, but when I started college, I was planning on becoming a camp director. After college, I realized that teacher would be a better fit for me so that I could work directly with kids every day and I went back to school for my masters. I taught 5th grade English and social studies before moving up to 6th grade this year! But who knows, there’s still time for me to become a camp director one day!

Did Coniston influence your ability to create this journey?

 
Of course – in so many ways! At Coniston I got to work with so many amazing and talented people who inspired me to be better for my campers everyday. I learned to work as part of a team and that leading by example is the best way to lead. Most importantly, my campers helped me realize that I needed to do a job that involved working directly with kids because I was happiest when I was with them. I would not be as strong of a teacher today without camp.
 
Are there any skills or traits you gained at Coniston that you use in your professional life?
 
Definitely! Leading Adventure Camp and taking the WCITs out west taught me about responsibility, organization, planning, and so much more. I had to make sure that everyone had food to eat, had everything they needed, was safe, and was having a good time. It was hard work! I use the skills I built on those trips every day at school!

My experience working at camp has had a huge impact on my teaching style. I try to infuse my classroom environment and my lessons with the joy and support of camp. I put relationships first, both mine with my students and my students’ with each other, because once there is that close bond of trust, the serious learning and growing can start.
 
Are there any specific memories from your time at Coniston that are still impactful to you?
 
I will never forget the first Adventure Camp trip I lead! The only camping I had done before that trip was my cabin overnights. It poured for 2-3 days straight right when we left. We were soaked, our tents were soaked, and it was impossible to start a fire to cook anything to warm us up. I had to figure out how to solve all of our problems and make the most of our situation. By the end of our trip, because of everything we went through, our group became so close and it was hard for us to say goodbye to each other. Whenever anything challenging comes my way, I think of that trip, and I know I can handle anything!