Over the summer, Queens College offers a Summer Camp program for kids from ages 5 to 14. As The Classic reported in March, the program has recently started hiring high school students as counselors. After advertising the program over the spring, the program has hired several current students from Townsend Harris to spend their summer as counselors on the QC campus.
Rising seniors Denion Prifti, Darius Fratila, and Ashley Facey all applied to be counselors. Darius said, “[the] QC Summer Camp is really accessible for me and it’s comfortable to work with people that I already know, on a campus that I’m familiar with.”
Denion said, “I personally enjoy working with kids as I volunteered last year and enjoyed the experience.”
“There are many programs that campers can join. Every day is a new experience,” Darius said.
Students from THHS are able to work and care for children from July 1st to August 23rd. Applicants can work in programs that focus on education, sports, and theatre for kids. This includes the theatre production program, the dance academy, basketball, volleyball, and soccer camp.
In the theatre/dance program, kids work together to put on a show in four weeks. They are able to take vocal, improv, dance, and drama classes as well.
Ashley said, “I love that I get to watch such talented kids and dedicated teachers working to put on a show in such a short amount of time.”
English teacher Katherine Yan has been working as a counselor in the program for more than ten years. She thinks it is a good opportunity for current THHS students to become counselors. “[THHS students] will enjoy becoming role models for their young campers and making friends with fellow counselors,” she said.
Although many students enjoy working at Queens College Summer Camp, counselors say there are a few cons to the program. As cons, they described making less than minimum wage ($300 a week, working from 8:30am-4:30pm), and said that dismissal sometimes takes a while. However, Ashley said, “The pros outweigh the cons for me.”
“Working with kids has helped me become more patient and understanding,” said Denion.
