ACA, Texoma’s Buffalo Bur NEWS AND INFORMATION THAT REALLY STICKS WITH YOU.

For anyone interested in camp as a career:

Found this little gem on Facebook. 

by Jessica Pearson Coleman

I think it's great that you are looking into a career in camp. I'm a big encourager of people who want to get more involved to be a part of ACA - the American Camp Association.

First, you should contact your local Young Professionals group. Most areas have an EPIC (Emerging Professionals in Camp) social network; they tend to host both social and educational events throughout the year and are affiliated with ACA (so they are truly professional). These events are geared specifically for people are just getting into camp as a possible career path. [[Edit: ACA, Texoma EPIC - http://www.acatexoma.org/epic.php]]; for other areas, check with your local ACA office (http://www.acacamps.org/about/offices.php). 

Second, if you're not already a member, join ACA. You can learn more about a membership at: http://acacamps.org/membership/. As a student, the cost is only $35/year, which is a great deal, plus it gets you discounts to educational events, books that might be of interest to you, etc. There's also a great magazine that includes program ideas to use now and operational specifics to start learning.

Third, determine what professional development opportunities you have. ACA compiles most events at http://www.acacamps.org/conference/conferences.php, but you may also want to check with your local ACA office to see what else they have to offer. [[Edit: ACA, Texoma Education - http://www.acatexoma.org/education.php]] You do NOT have to be a member of ACA or of the local office to participate in events, but there are usually financial discounts if you are.
Fourth, I would strongly encourage you to become a Standards Visitor. ACA accredits camps through their Standards program; camps agree to follow a bunch of safety and program guidelines, and fellow camp professionals check them out regularly to be sure they are actually doing what they say they are. Being a Standards Visitor allows you to professionally visit other camps -- it's a great learning experience. There are two courses required - the Standards Course and the Visitors Course (not sure of exact names). I'll be honest, they can be a bit monotonous, but being a visitor is worth it! Generally, you'll be asked to do two visits each summer, and they can take most of the day. During a visit, you will go to another camp, tour their property, ask questions to the director, counselors, and campers, and look over paperwork (this can be done before the camp season if they have it prepared in time). It's a great opportunity to see other camps' properties, to learn about how other camps run, and to get advice on common camp issues or just to see how other people do things. It's fun and informative, and you might meet some really cool camp people.

Beyond that, yes, conferences can be useful at this stage. As a college student, I began attending Tri-State, which was in Manhattan (New York) and is now in Atlantic City, NJ. It's three days long, and it's the largest camp conference in the world. You will get a ton out of the experience, and I highly recommend it. If you are not in the area, check out your local ACA office's conference (often, several local offices - called Sections - get together and run a large regional event together); there may also be other, smaller educational conferences/events that are worth attending. If you aren't sure an event is appropriate for you, ask your local office staff or ask them to recommend another member of the Section that you could speak with.

Once you're a member of ACA, you will likely receive e-mail updates about upcoming regional events.

As you get more involved in camp, I would recommend attending the National Conference, at least once. These tend to focus a bit more on higher-level sessions, mostly for directors. That being said, they do also have some YP (Young Professional - like EPIC) tracks, _and_ students can currently (still in 2009) attend for free (you do have to pay for transportation there, hotel, food, etc., but it's a good deal). You can learn more about the sessions for this year's conference (which I think looks pretty good) at: http://www.acacamps.org/conference/session_hightlights.php. (You can download the preliminary schedule as a PDF.) I went once my senior year in college, and it was a bit over my head. I didn't go again until I was working for camps full-time for a few years. You can meet great people from all over the country, and they are usually open to sharing ideas and thoughts; this is where I met my best camp friend - who runs a day camp in Colorado.

Oh, and eventually, you will want to take the Basic Camp Director's Course (BCDC). Don't do it yet! I did it my senior year in college, and it was way too advanced for me. The whole basis is to help you make your camp the camp of your dreams -- so wait until you're a few years from running your own camp (or becoming a partner with someone). There is a more basic course called the New Director's Course; it's relatively new, so I never took it - I can't vouch for it, but it might be worth looking into. (It's also shorter and cheaper than BCDC.)