Category: Alumni Spotlight

I was 8 years old when I started at Camp.

Connecticut College, Class of 2016. Bachelors in Environmental Studies. University of Oregon, Class of 2019, Masters in Community and Regional Planning.

In 2023, I became Portland Parks and Recreation and the City of Portland’s very first Talent Engagement and Development Supervisor. To sum up my job in one phrase – I work to grow the next generation of Parks and Recreation professionals. That includes recruiting and hiring anyone from lifeguards and camp counselors to arborists, horticulturists, and data analysts.

My team leads outreach, recruitment, and marketing for careers and job opportunities with Portland Parks and Recreation by partnering with schools, colleges, universities, professional associations, and community organizations. I also support current employees in their training and professional development. I love connecting with new and emerging professionals interested in careers in STEM, public administration/local government, and especially parks and recreation.

I wear many hats in my job – as a project manager, team leader, mentor, recruiter, trainer, data analyst, and more! I am also the liaison to the Oregon Recreation and Parks Association as well as the National Recreation and Parks Association.

Most importantly – Compassionate Leadership, Patience, Active Listening, Empathy, Situational Awareness, and Understanding of summer camp and aquatics (lifeguard and swim instructor) operations.

Today my team supports the outreach, recruitment, and hiring of 1,000-2,000 summer seasonal staff for summer camps, swim lessons, and seasonal maintenance. Having worked in those kinds of jobs before, I am way more equipped to understand some of the challenges faced in hiring, training, onboarding, and supervising these staff. And I have a much better understanding of the work our staff do on a day to day basis, as a former camp counselor myself.

Too many to count. My 6 summers as camper, one summer as CIT, and 2 summers as a staff member were some of the most impactful and meaningful times of my entire life.

• Taking Ecology and learning about species and ecosystems found around Coniston really set my personal and professional interests in motion. It was one of my favorite program areas as a camper, and getting to work in that program area as a counselor was a dream come true.

• Running into the lake returning from climbing Mt Washington was and still is probably one of the most emotional memories in my life. 

• Overnights at Pennyroyal (especially some interactions with the local wildlife…). During overnights, I learned a lot about situational awareness, working as a group, and having fun in sometimes uncomfortable situations.

I was 9 years old when I started at Camp.

I went to University of Richmond and double majored in International Studies and Spanish.

I work at St. Paul’s School as an Alumni Relations and Giving Officer. In this role I work closely with our volunteers, help plan events, and fundraise for the school at the Annual Giving Level.

I learned a lot about working with different groups of people while at camp. Starting as a camper sharing a cabin with new people I had never met to managing my staff at Afterschool. It taught me to see other people’s points of view, treat everyone with respect and celebrate our differences. This is a tremendous help in working with co-workers and alumni in my current role. I’m also frequently reminded of our check-in day trainings as I greet new people 🙂

Well certainly meeting my husband, Michael, is one- my two sons wouldn’t be here today without Coniston!
This isn’t a specific memory, but one thing that has surprised me is how the impact of Coniston in my life has continued to evolve even after my last summer. My husband and I have always had our Coniston friends from when we were campers and on staff, and for me camp was always a special connection I shared with my family too. But then, after I graduated from college and lived in Boston, Michael and I were connected to a whole other group of camp friends who were living nearby. And coming back to work year round at camp brought me closer to the office staff. Michael is now on the board of the Childhood Cancer Lifeline because of Camp Winning Spirit, which is held at Coniston every Labor Day Weekend. My parents have been helping to bring kids from the New American community here in Concord to camp every summer, and we’ve gotten to know some wonderful kids through that. And now, we’re eagerly awaiting Summer 2029 when we get to be Coniston Parents for the first time! So, never assume you’ve seen the end of the impact of camp in your life; you never know what’s around the corner!

I was 15.

Yes – Marketing major with and economics minor, then an MBA in business.

I am an owner of a disc golf course and course design business.

Goal setting
Friend making
Risk taking
Time management

Too many to put in words. I was part of Camp and Camp will always be a part of me. It is easily the reason I am the man, father, husband, worker, and friend I am today.

I was 9.

Yes – I went to Fairfield University and earned a BA in psychology, Boston University for a MEd Masters of Education in School Counseling and Southern New Hampshire University for a CAGS Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Educational Leadership.

My current role is the District Director of Wellness and Equity for SAU67: Bow & Dunbarton schools. My job involves supporting systems intiatives focused on wellness and equity for our students, staff and our community. I organize professional development opportunities, student leadership trainings and wellness initatives throughout our district. I am responsible for expanding our Social Emotional Learning opportunities for our school district focusing not only on the mental health and wellness of our students but also our educators.

So many! People skills! Organization! I am incredibly grateful that there are at least 4 other people that I work with who attended Conistion, we all have things in common that I can attribute to skills we developed at camp. We are all able to make strong connections with others, see the big picture in situations and are creative and emotionally resilient. These skills that we learned as campers transfer seamlessly into our daily lives as educators.

So many! When I reflect on camp, which I often do, it is a time in my life that is protected in my mind. No one can touch it, no bad in the world can impact those memories and no one can take it away from me. When I am in a stressful situation, or time of life, I close my eyes and think of camp. I take a walking tour of camp in my brain and it calms me down immediately. The memories of soccer games on the A field, dances in the pavilion, sitting on the rock by the climbing tower, jumping off the diving board at G-fro, walking quietly to Vespers, and time on my bunk in my cabin are the small moments that literally give me goosebumps when I think about them as an adult.

After my CIT year in 2000, I took a step away from camp life for a while. I didnt go back in 2001 on staff so for many years I felt as though I wasnt “in camp” any more and that “other people” who were on staff were the ones who were able to maintain the connection to camp. I honestly didnt talk to many people from camp for a long time, except my childhood best friend who went to camp as well. Eventually, I had my own children and they were about old enough to start going to camp and I wanted them to have the experiences that I had. I took a risk and reached out to some old camp people and reached out to start attending events with camp people. Immediately the emotions I felt as a child camp flooding back into my life and for that I am forever grateful!

I was 14.

Yes, UNH. I started in Earth Sciences, shifted to Earth Science Teaching, then Psychology, then Social Work. I ended up with a BS in Family Studies.

I am the Director, Talent Acquisition (recruiting) for Collegium Pharmaceutical. I am responsible for developing the recruiting strategy, systems, team, process, etc. I am also responsible for recruiting talent for a wide array of job functions across the company.

Too many to list. Teaching ropes taught me about communication, trust, and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. Teaching sailing showed me opportunity comes and goes like the wind, grab the main sheet and seize it. Most importantly, Coniston taught me to be my authentic self always.

All of them. Campers used to ask me all the time “Ziggy, why do you stop on the causeway?” We weren’t supposed to stop on the causeway. I always knew my time at Coniston was finite, and I made sure to appreciate and live in each moment. I stopped on the causeway to take stock in those moments, even the difficult ones. No matter what is happening in life, don’t forget to stop on the causeway!

I was 13.

I went to Villanova University, and studied Communications with minors in Peace & Justice and Global Health.

I’m a Field Producer at ABC News Studios. Studios is the Longform division of ABC News, and my team produces documentaries and news-adjacent series and specials for both Hulu and the ABC network. My job is to go out into the field and produce shoots: I conduct interviews, collect b-roll, manage camera crews, scout locations, handle on-set logistics & more.

“Fake it til you make it” is the number one mantra I use when I’m in the field. When I have multiple 16-hour shoot days in a row, I find myself having to dig deep for energy and slap a smile on my face until I trick myself into believing it… just like fourth session. Also, this sounds crazy but I have to use my “counselor voice” on set constantly (let me tell ya it really feels different when you’re in the real world and not corralling middler girls).

Yes!! I’m still very (very) close with lots of people from Coniston. I think all the time about my summers at camp and I’m so lucky that there’s such a strong NYC contingent. One memory I’ll call out is the last period of the last day of fourth session my last summer as a counselor. A snapping turtle and the thickest most massive leech I have ever seen showed up to gfro within 30 seconds of each other and the campers went nuts. I think about that every single day. It’s a great metaphor for producing tv actually.

I was 12!

MS in Organizational Dynamics and MBA in International Business.

I am the Head of People and Culture for a small biotech. This role incorporates all aspects of HR. My favorite part of my role is coaching new managers.

Coniston gave me many opportunities to step up and be a leader among my peers as well as a team player. These are lessons you value for life.

The ability to take feedback and turn it into positive steps forward is a continuous skill that is reinforced at Coniston. It is a nurturing environment to learn new things, fail at times, and then pick yourself up and try again.

My time as a CIT was invaluable. I still cherish the friendships that continue to today along with leadership lessons.

I was 9 or 10!

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

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.

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.

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.

I was 10 years old!

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

I am a high school biology and environmental science teacher.

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.

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

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.

I was 12 when I first came to camp!

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.

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

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!