Getting To Know Sarah Bush – Upper Senior Girls Group Leader
This summer, Sarah will be the Group Leader for the Upper Senior Girls (going into 9th grade). As a group leader, Sarah is responsible for ensuring the emotional and physical well-being of her campers, while providing support and guidance to the counselors in her group.
How many summers have you spent at Iroquois Springs, and what brought you here in the first place?
This will be my 5th summer at Iroquois Springs. I was looking for a new summer camp experience in the Northeast. I was already aware of Iroquois Springs’ great reputation and Gazza (Gary Ross) sold me during my interview.
What was your childhood camp experience like?
My childhood camp experience still holds a great deal of fond memories for me. In fact, some of my closest friends to this day are my camp friends from high school.
What do you believe makes Iroquois Springs special for campers and staff?
There is definitely an Iroquois Springs magic that must be experienced to be fully understood. The combination of the Iroquois Springs campers and staff create an amazing escape from the outside world that really feels like another place to call “home.”
Please discuss briefly anything that you feel helps create a smooth mid-summer transition as partial summer campers leave and arrive.
The transition can be one of the most difficult parts of camp for some campers. I’ve found that it’s really important to let the remaining campers talk about how they’re feeling after saying goodbye to their friends who leave after the first session, and also to talk about having new campers coming into the bunk.
I do my best to help the first session campers depart without having any regrets, while at the same time, getting the full-summer campers excited for the remaining weeks of camp. Identifying roles for the remaining campers to take on for the arrival of their new bunkmates helps to alleviate some of the craziness that comes with the transition.
How do you spend the ten months waiting for camp to start?
I spend my ten months like most of the campers…waiting for my favorite two months of the year! After a long, cold winter in Erie, PA, the summer at Iroquois Springs cannot come soon enough. I am currently working for Penn State Behrend as a Residence Life Coordinator.
What are your hobbies?
Soccer, playing guitar, cooking, running, reading, and watching football
What are your favorite Iroquois Springs activities, events, traditions?
Activities: I like the Lake, arts and crafts, and Jewelry
Events: Apache Relay and Mock Rock
Traditions: My favorite camp tradition has always been sing, but after last summer, girls-side sing may have jumped to the top of the list.
Please share a fond memory or two about your time at Iroquois Springs:
It may sound a bit surprising, but some of my fondest memories occurred during rest hour, hanging out on the porch with my campers and counselors.
As far as a specific event is concerned, I really loved being a Tribals leader. Even though my Gold team lost pretty badly, the whole team maintained their spirit and cheered in the face of disappointment. The competition was great, but the thing that I really appreciated was seeing how much fun everyone had throughout Tribals. It just goes to show that creating memories can be more important than winning and losing.