The ideal camp staff member is an individual who engages youth on levels and in ways that they never thought possible. She helps to answer age-old questions and bring meaning to everyday situations. She is willing to sit up late and talk about the meaning of life or the great joke you heard this afternoon. She will listen, give advice, offer words of comfort, give you a smile when you need it, and put everything in perspective.

He is a role model. He walks the line between being a teacher and a friend. He is willing to teach you all that he knows about life, learning, and community. He gets excited about philosophical conversations, about a great book, or about which team will win the game. He knows what is important to you and what you're up to, and he asks about your time at the lake, how your bar mitzvah preparations are going, or about your favorite music.

She makes learning fun and engaging, framing it in a new and creative way you've never imagined. She makes you think about the difficult questions and forces you to grapple with questions that cannot be answered. She engages you in conversation and makes you feel at home in uncomfortable situations. She has all the right answers - and even more, all the right questions - and she shows her excitement about the topics and about you at every moment.

He is a setter of boundaries, creating safe spaces and safe relationships between you and your friends and between him and the group. You know what he expects of you, and you strive to live up to these expectations. He knows what you expect of him, and he strives to live up to those expectations. He wants you to learn with him and from him, and he wants to learn at least as much from you. He uses a gentle word, tough love, and a no-nonsense attitude to gain your respect, and he works hard to keep it. He is not afraid to make a mistake and to admit it, and he is always willing to get up and try again.

She lets you shine in front of your peers. He is a constant support for you and wants to push you to do the best work possible. She watches you make mistakes and builds your confidence as you fix them, and she makes sure that you don't make the same mistakes again. He shows you how to fall down and get up with dignity, and she helps you to understand why falling down is so important in the first place.