Name:  Nicholas Moore

Years as camper: 6

Years as staff: 4

Positions:  Counselor (2008, 2010), Adventure Counselor (2009), Adventure Coordinator (2011)

Date Written: December 27, 2012

My Journey at camp started when I was a camper.  I went to basic cabin camp for the first time in 2000.  I remember having so much fun while there.  I couldn’t wait to go back the next year.  For the following years, I returned to camp doing other camps such as canoe camp (which needs to be brought back!) and servant adventure (which also needs to be brought back!)  I remember each summer getting so excited to go to camp.  I would always feel a sense of relief every time I went under the front gate.  There was not a worry in the world when I was at camp.  I knew from the start as a camper that I wanted to be a counselor at camp someday.  I couldn’t imagine how incredible it would be to stay at camp for the whole summer. 

During my senior year of high school in 2007, I applied to work at camp.  I was so excited of the idea of being at camp all summer.  I was called by the program director at the time and had an interview over the phone.  However, I joined the military my senior year of high school and was told I would be leaving for basic combat training in June.  This means I would not be able to work at camp.  This would be the first summer I wouldn’t be at camp in 6 summers.

During my time at basic training, I thought about camp almost daily.  Every time we would train in the woods, it would remind me of camp.  Throughout my four months of being gone with the military, I knew that the next summer, I would be working at camp.

Sure enough, I got hired on as a counselor for the summer of 2008.  I was so excited to know that I would be spending the summer there.  However, once again, conflicts arose.  In the spring semester of 2008, while in college, my vehicle caught fire.  The car was a complete loss.  Only having liability insurance, I was fairly certain that I wasn’t going to get any insurance money to purchase another vehicle.  My parents let me borrow some money to buy a new vehicle.  On top of the 2,000 dollars they gave me to put down as a down payment, I also owed them about 3,000 dollars for my first semester of tuition as the military did not yet cover it.  I sat down and thought about the 5,000 dollars I owed my parents.  I wanted to pay them back, and pay them back as soon as possible.  I got offered a job to work at a restaurant in Altoona that I worked at throughout high school waiting tables.  The money I made there was certainly much more than I would make at camp.  A few days that I was supposed to head to camp, I emailed the director and told her that I was not going to be able to work at camp.  I needed to make money to pay off my debt.  The director strongly encouraged me to come to camp stating that “the money will come.”  I took her word for it and declined the restaurant job. 

In June 2008, I headed to camp for the summer not really knowing what to expect.  But this summer proved to be one of the best summers of my life.  I met so many incredible people and learned so much about myself, while having fun.  I also learned that my first summer as a camper, I was in a cabin with one of the other counselors who was working at camp this summer.  It was funny to sit back and talk about that summer and realize that we are now counselors together.  I even found my photo album of pictures I took at camp first summer as a camper and found pictures of me and this other counselor together in a few.  Camp is a place where anyone can come.  It doesn’t matter what religion, race, nationality, or anything else that someone may be.  They come through those gates and they are welcomed there.  The other thing I love about camp is you can be yourself there and not have to worry about being judged.  In today’s society, people try to do what they can to “fit in.”  With all the bullying that’s going on in and out of our schools, people want to be part of the “cool group.”  At camp, you can be yourself and know that no one is going to judge you or treat you any differently than anyone else.  That is one of my favorite things about camp.  In August 2008, I was very sad to leave camp for the summer, but was very anxious to return the next summer.

In 2009, I applied to be the adventure counselor.  The adventure program at camp has always been my favorite.  I thoroughly enjoyed the rock climbing, white water rafting, and camping out.  It was really nice to see campers returning and remembering who I was.  I loved watching campers grow each year as I returned for the summers of 2010 and 2011.  It was even neat to see campers I had in my first few summers return to camp as staff members.  There’s something about that place that keeps pulling people back. 

After the summer of 2011, I knew I had some decisions to make.  I was graduating college in the spring of 2012.  I had to decide if I would return to camp for another summer, or push hard into the job search in this tough economy.  I decided to “retire” from camp and dig in hard to the job search.  However, camp did not leave me.  One of the job offers I had upon graduating was at a juvenile detention facility.  This facility focused on rehabilitating the juveniles over punishing them.  My experience working with children at camp came up during my interview.  They were very impressed with the programs that camp provides for children.  They offered me a job.  I firmly believe that the 4 years I worked at camp had a big part to do with being offered this job.

With having a few different offers, I decided to work for a company called ICS Merrill.  ICS Merrill is a branch off of a company called EMSI (Examination Management Services Incorporated).  ICS Merrill was the investigative division of this company.  I got hired on as a field investigator investigating insurance fraud cases. 

So where am I at today?  I’m still working for ICS Merrill.  I travel all around central and western PA for work.  And sometimes down into Maryland in West Virginia.  I’m currently living in Altoona, but may be moving into the Pittsburgh area in the near future.  I’m still in the military, and recently signed up to do another 7 years in the army.  I get to camp as often as I can and try to see some of the staffers as much as possible.  Camp has been a huge part of my life for the past decade.  I can’t wait to have children and send them to camp to let them experience what I got to experience!