Resident Camp Counselor

YMCA Camp Pepin - Resident Camp Counselor

Location: Stockholm, WI

Compensation: $400/week + room and board

Dates of Employment: June 4 to August 18, 2025

At Camp Pepin, Resident Counselors are more than just caregivers—they’re the heart of each camper’s experience. As a Resident Counselor, you’ll play a key role in shaping unforgettable moments, leading activities, and fostering personal growth for each camper. You’ll guide them through daily life, support their development, and ensure they feel safe, seen, and valued. This position is ideal for leaders who can nurture relationships, bring excitement to every week, and ensure Camp Pepin is a positive, inclusive place for all.

Essential Functions:

• Lead with Heart: Work closely with campers to create a supportive, fun, and enriching camp environment. Ensure that their well-being, enjoyment, and personal growth are prioritized above all else.
• Collaborate Effectively: Foster strong partnerships with fellow staff members, ensuring a seamless experience for campers. Actively contribute to the camp’s goals by being a supportive and proactive team player.
• Create Magic: Bring creativity and enthusiasm to every day by planning and executing engaging activities. Make every week feel fresh and special, tailoring experiences that reflect the needs and interests of your campers.
• Commit to Safety and Inclusivity: Ensure campers are properly supervised at all times, and strictly follow safety guidelines. Champion the values of diversity and inclusion by creating a welcoming space for everyone, regardless of their background.
• Model Self-Care: Demonstrate and practice healthy self-care techniques to maintain personal well-being, allowing you to bring your best energy to campers and fellow staff.
• Contribute to Camp Pepin's Legacy: Embody the values and mission of the YMCA and Camp Pepin by continuously working to enhance its reputation within the community. Uphold high standards of service and commitment, fostering a positive and impactful camp environment that families rave about.

DETAILS:

YMCA Camp Pepin is searching for energetic and hardworking young adults who have a passion to mentor and engage with today’s youth in entertaining and meaningful ways. Resident counselors are the backbone of daily activities at camp – from teaching skill classes, to running all-camp activities, and to being great leaders for their cabin group, resident counselors take on all kinds of roles at Camp Pepin. 

All counselors will attend staff training prior to the start of summer programming, where you will learn how to maximize your impact at Camp Pepin. During this time, emphasis will be placed on developing and strengthening leadership skills – such as being good role models, coaching kids on positive behaviors, goal setting progression throughout your time at camp (I want to get better at X by doing Y), demonstrating healthy living skills, and learning more about yourself while helping others learn more about themselves. Risk management procedures are also a main focus of staff training, so that all counselors are prepared to handle any kind of situation that might arise during summer camp. Staff training includes free certification in First Aid, CPR, and (if desired) Lifeguarding. 

Each counselor will be assigned to a weekly cabin group consisting of 6-12 campers in a similar age range. Together along with your co-counselor (every cabin will have AT LEAST 2 counselors), you will be in charge of facilitating the daily schedule of your cabin. This includes morning wake up, mealtimes, 3 cabin activities (responsibilities split throughout the week with your co-counselors), and bedtime. Co-counselors will alternate “nights off” throughout the week, so that from 10-midnight one can have a break to hang out in the Staff lodge or have some time to themselves. 

Resident counselors will each teach 2 skill classes that meet daily each morning. At Camp Pepin, we encourage counselors to design and instruct classes that resonate with their own interests, so that you can share with campers things you are enthusiastic about. We have existing program areas that include the Waterfront, High Ropes, and Target Sports – and we offer training for these during staff training! Other classes, like Mad Science, Outdoor Survival, Poetry, Dance, Field Hockey, etc. will be based on both the counselors’ proclivity for certain skills and what the campers wish to sign up for that week. Every counselor will have one skill class period “off” to do laundry, take a nap, watch tv - essentially, recharge. 

As a counselor, your days will be long, but they will also be highly meaningful. Being able to be a positive influence on your campers is something that both they and you will remember forever. Working and living with other counselors from around the world results in life-long friendships – we've seen this year after year and it’s an amazing aspect of our small community at Camp Pepin. A summer camp counselor position also prepares you for any future career, as you will use a variety of different skills on a daily basis that can be (directly or indirectly) translated into “real life” skills. For many, working at Camp Pepin has been a life-changing experience, and our counselors are truly what make the magic of camp possible.  

ABOUT CAMP PEPIN: 

YMCA Camp Pepin is a co-ed summer camp located in Stockholm, WI, on the shores of Lake Pepin. The 40-acre camp hosts hundreds of youths (ages 4-17) mostly from Minnesota and Wisconsin each summer, with a weekly average of 50 to 70 campers participating in overnight programming, and another 20 to 40 participating in our weekly Day Camp sessions. All of this would not be possible without an incredible team of 20 to 30 young adults from all around the world who work as our counselors and leadership staff and strive to make each summer the best summer ever for everyone involved.  

YMCA Camp Pepin has been providing summer entertainment for youth for over 85 years – offering unforgettable experiences for generation after generation. Our unique location on Lake Pepin provides a stunning backdrop for all our exciting activities. With around 60 campers each week, we could be considered a relatively small summer camp; but we believe we have a lasting impact on the campers and staff who spend their summers at Camp Pepin. The close-knit community feel of camp serves as an encouraging and welcoming environment for anyone to learn more about themselves and what they are capable of, and provides participants opportunities to interact, engage with, and befriend people who may be different than them.   

The fun, excitement, and adventure never end at Camp Pepin, thanks to facilities like our waterfront, ropes course, zipline course and climbing tower, target range, or 18-hole disc golf course – just to name a few. Paired with enriching and engaging programs like Mad Science, Creative Writing, Languages, or Martial Arts – all led by knowledgeable and passionate instructors – everyone is bound to find something they are interested in or have always been curious about. When it comes time to leave Camp Pepin each summer, our goal is to send off our campers and staff with a renewed sense of respect for themselves, others, and the natural world around them.