By: Laura McQuillan, alumna
When I think of Camp George it immediately warms my soul, a smile forms and my heart fills with joy. My summers spent on Maple Lake gifted me with some of my most treasured memories. Beyond those memories, overnight camp provided me with my first opportunity to grow independently away from home, to push myself out of my traditional comfort zone and above all develop my Jewish identity.
I can vividly remember the first of my nine summers spent at Camp George. Boarding an airplane and landing four hours later in Ontario, I was overwhelmed and terrified to be leaving my family two provinces over in Saskatchewan. Little did I know camp would provide me with the opportunity to build a new family, my Camp George family. Summer after summer my family grew and the relationships deepened. It’s really quite simple, Camp George builds lifers, people who came to Maple Lake stayed and returned summer after summer.
Like many of my fellow Georgers, I was lucky to go through what I like to call, a full Camp George lifecycle. I started as an itty-bitty camper in lehavot then transitioned through kochavim and barak. While I spent my C.I.T. year in Israel at Maccabiah playing basketball for Team Canada, I promptly returned the following year for my first summer as an official Camp George staff member.
Being staff was exhilarating, as a staff member I had the ability to support campers and provide them with the Camp George thrill that kept me coming back every summer. There was nothing more gratifying then watching a timid new camper build confidence, new friendships and inevitably grow into a Camp George lifer.
My Camp George lifecycle came full circle in 2010 when I returned to George as a senior staff member in the position of Assistant Unit Head of kochavim. It was quite exciting, I got to use a walkie-talkie, drive the golf cart and even got a room in “The Lodge.” For those of you who have attended Camp George you will know the significance of this. As a camper, the lodge, (especially the residents’ rooms) was off limits and almost felt like some sort of top-secret locale.
Our kochavim unit head was Laura Reisman, we were Laura2 and while I may be biased, we made one heck of a great team! Being the second in command, yes it was a very official position, gave me a whole new perspective of camp. Rather than being attached to a specific cabin or specialty area I had 10 cabins full of campers who would greet me with an enthusiastic, “HI LAURA!!!” any time I’d pass them on the way to paddle sports or deliver them evening snack.
There were many things that made summer 2010 one of the most memorable. Reconnecting with the spirit of camp after a summer away and feeding my connection to the Jewish faith are at the top of the list, but what stands out from the pack is one very specific feeling. It was a proud feeling, a mama bear feeling and it came from seeing my very first campers as a staff member become staff members themselves. I felt tremendous pride watching those young women support their first cabins filled with inquisitive and mischievous young Jewish minds. I wasn’t sure where time had gone, it had felt like just the day before I was their staff member, making sure they got up on water skis, conquered the ropes course and cleaned up their “areas” (code for mess around their bed). Now I was watching them do the same for their cabins, I was so proud.
When I reflect back on my overnight camp memories I do so with such tremendous happiness and gratitude. Camp George taught me how to push my limits and how to do so with confidence. It became my home away from home, a safe place for me to learn, explore and grow into the proud Jewish woman I am today. I will forever be grateful for my summers spent on Maple Lake and wish the same for opportunity for all young Jewish minds.
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