Camp JCC Story: From Camper to Counselor
Camp JCC Counselor Adam Sichel, 20, leading a song session
For Adam Sichel, a 20-year-old Raleigh native, summer has meant one thing for most of his life—Camp JCC. Since 2005, he has returned every year to the camp’s wooded setting in North Raleigh, first as a camper for 11 years and then as a staff member for the last four years. During that time, he has experienced all that camp has to offer, first as a participant, and then as a leader making it happen.
“My favorite activity as a camper was playing sports,” said Adam. “I also loved interacting with the counselors. I thought they were the coolest people in the world!”
Eventually, Adam got the chance to participate in Hadracha, a program for rising 10th graders to gain leadership skills as counselors-in-training. “It’s gives you a taste of what it’s like to not be a camper, to shadow the counselors,” Adam said. “Hadracha helped me to realize that I liked working with kids and I could have a big impact as a counselor.”
Adam gained a new appreciation for the hard work and creativity it takes to make camp run smoothly. He explained, “You see behind the scenes of everything. You dictate tempo and energy and excitement of every day. You have impact on what your campers experience every day.” He served as a counselor for several years, eventually working his way up to the position of Rosh, supervising the counselors who work with the camp’s units for rising 5th-9th graders.
As Adam’s main employment experience since high school, he appreciates the way Camp JCC has given him a safe place to increase his leadership skills and demonstrate his ability to take on new responsibilities. It also helped Adam, an International Studies major at NC State, to discover the areas he’d like to focus on in his career. “I want to do something with kids, either in camp work or the Jewish nonprofit world,” he said.
Being a counselor has given Adam many opportunities to share Jewish experiences with the next generation of campers. One of the most meaningful experiences for him as a camper was the way the entire camp gathered together on Friday afternoons for a Shabbat celebration. “I remember how special that was, being with the older kids for this tradition every Friday,” he said. He still remembers the first time he was asked to lead the Shabbat celebration as a counselor, playing his guitar. “It was nerve wracking and scary, but it was a big deal!”
Adam during his camper days (front row, 3rd from the left)
Adam appreciates the way that, in a city with multiple synagogues, Camp JCC serves as neutral ground for children and families to come together. Without camp, some kids might never connect with each other. He said, “During the year, the kids interact with their own circles at the synagogue. At camp, it’s the diaspora of all the Jews in the area in a central location.”
That welcoming, pluralistic atmosphere is something Adam treasures and hopes that others will use to find connection.
“Camp JCC is the most inclusive and accepting environment I’ve ever been in. We have campers and staff who are not Jewish, but they heard about camp through word-of-mouth, and they are quickly enveloped in this loving community. Camp is a special and dear place in my heart. The more people that can experience it, the better. It’s a gem in the Triangle.”
For more information on how you can support Camp JCC through the Jewish Federation’s Annual Campaign, CLICK HERE.