Staff

Staff Life at Manitou

Whether you are someone looking for a job for the summer or a parent checking out who are staff are; our message is the same. Our staff are our strength: The best camper staff ratio in the camping world: With over 200 staff and an average of 430 campers per summer it’s hard to imagine a better staff team. Manitou’s eight person camp director team made up teachers, professionals and parents allows for the ultimate in staff training, support and supervision.

We certainly think that working at Camp Manitou is the best of many great choices out there. Most people know why working at camp can be fun and the experience of a lifetime but there are also tremendous benefits that you may not have considered when looking at your future full time employment or lifelong decisions. So spend the necessary time to review all of the material below along with all of the information in this web site and call us personally as we would love to hear from you!

At Manitou we are all about diversity and allowing individual needs to be met for both campers and staff. Camp Manitou is committed to employment equity and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. If you require an accommodation at any point during the hiring process please let us know as we will work with you to meet your needs and all information will be held in the strictest confidence. Camp Manitou prides itself on creating a community that is accepting of all, and teaches that diversity among a community is a strength. As such, the staff member is expected to be tolerant, supportive and affirming of all backgrounds, religious beliefs , gender identities and expressions

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Staff Testimonials

I want to start off by thanking you for one of the best summers of my life. You have truly built an incredible camp for campers and staff. It was difficult for me to adjust to a new camp after spending half of my life at another. I feared that Manitou was too big, and therefore would not have a friendly environment. However, several people who had known me for less than a week made the effort to make me feel welcome and wanted. I do not think of what I have done as I reflect on my summer. I think of the people that I have spent it with. I think of all of the new people that I have met; many of whom I am closer with than the people I knew going into camp. I think of a unit head who I could rely on and relate to. An activity head who ran an awesome tennis program and treated his staff as friends. Lastly, I think of a set of directors who went above and beyond in tending to the needs of the staff members. I appreciate everything you have done for me this summer. I hope you enjoyed camp as much as I did.

Kyle Forman

I know that this is a little late but I wanted to take a moment to thank you for having me at Manitou over the past two summers. I am so proud of the swim program and everything it has become. In addition to the program, it has been a huge blessing to see Swim Staff grow over the course of the summer into more mature, confident individuals. I have been given a lot of credit over the year for the program’s progress but it is honestly the Manitou structure, established by yourself and the team of directors, which has enabled this development. The structure I am referring to is one of respect, empowerment and freedom. From the day I stepped off the bus in 2012, only having had an interview months prior, I was treated with so much respect and love. Everyday you would check on me to make sure that I was ok and immediately this made me feel welcomed and supported by the Manitou family. This support was crucial to walk into such an overwhelming position. By day two I had the sense that the swim program was mine- I was given full responsibility and no boss would be breathing down my back. I felt trusted and empowered. This, coming from directors who had yet to fully know me, meant a lot and gave me more courage and ambition than I can convey through words. The responsibility, respect and trust that you have provided me with over two summers have been the most significant contributions to my confidence and self-esteem. Because of my experience at Manitou I feel as though I can tackle any overwhelming situation by taking it one step at a time and figuring out piece by piece. I am also confident in my interpersonal skills, specifically my ability to work with and lead people with a variety of personalities and maturity levels. I am most grateful for this personal growth because confidence and belief in oneself are huge factors to success. Before I started at Manitou my biggest concern was how to supervise effectively a group of teenagers and gain their respect. I had long conversations about this with my dad before camp, but I ended up basing my behavior on that of yours and the other directors. I don’t know how you do it but every day you are an incredible role model for leaders. I felt out the Manitou culture and watched how the directors interacted with and led the head staff during pre camp and throughout the summer. This was the best lesson in supervising. You and the team of directors are honestly remarkable, handling every situation with such grace, patience, kindness and professionalism. Another lesson I learned from you was the importance of balancing seriousness with being laid back. As a Head of Swim it is easy to get caught up in the stress of the situation, which at times I admit I did, but learning how to be chilled out at the same time was paramount. This delicate balance established safety yet fun on the docks for campers and Swim Staff. The final leadership lesson I learned was to treat those working with you like gold. I remember calling home last summer as raving about how well you treated the staff. Happy staff leads to respect and better work. I thank you so, so much for showing me how to be an effective leader. This lesson is invaluable and I owe it all to you and Manitou. Also, I really appreciated that no matter how busy you were throughout the summers, you would always make time for me if I said we needed a meeting. This made me feel important. I seriously cannot thank you enough or fully explain how much Manitou has done for me. I think that it is the best possible summer camp that runs like a well-oiled machine. I love Manitou and recommend it to everyone willing to listen. THANK YOU!!

Tamar Silverbrook

I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting me come back to camp this summer. I had the most amazing time and I think that it is safe to say that it was one of my "best summers ever". I had a lot of reservations and one million thoughts going through my head between the Tuesday afternoon I was hired and the Thursday I put my bags in the trunk. I was TERRIFIED as I was driving to camp that Thursday morning. As I drove past the camp sign so memories from my ten summers spent at Manitou attacked me all at once and I began to shake and my heart started to race. I was so nervous that camp was going to be a completely different place with new faces and new rules. Luckily, although there were a lot of new faces, they shared the same spirit that I had known years ago and after a couple of hours I knew that I was home. I remember so vividly, stepping out of my car and seeing the confused look on the faces of Steve and Byron so I ran into the office where Jen calmed me down. When I went to the dining hall I was welcomed with shocked faces (Weizel didn't believe for the longest time that I was back). The first day of my return to camp is so crystal clear and I honestly think that it will be a moment that I remember for a very long time. Thank you for 11 amazing summers and hopefully many more,

Vanessa Shier

I can’t believe after 13 summers, its still such a shock for me to come home and get adjusted back to city life, craving to be at camp. But just like I was when I was a moody 13 year old, I’ve been sitting around moping and complaining and just wishing to be back behind that desk in the office. I just want to thank you for another unbelievable summer. I'm struggling to even put this summer into words. I have had a lot of jobs at Camp Manitou, and working in the office was by far my favorite. Your confidence and support in me this summer was incredible, and for that I thank you. I still haven't 100% caught up on sleep since World Games, but a whole separate thank you needs to be said for selecting me as a World Games captain. It was by far the highlight of my past 13 summers, and was one of the best experiences ever. As I get older, it becomes harder and harder to be able to say to myself "I will 100% be back next summer", but as I drove through the gates last week, I could just tell it wouldn’t be my last summer. I'm really hoping summer 2014 is in the books for me! Again, thank you thank you thank you for everything. I feel like my thank you emails are usually way more articulate, but again, I am still a little sleep deprived and the only thing I can think about is being back at camp. All the best, Jessi Stern (this is the first email I’ve sent in 4 months without a fax attached to it or the subject line "missing health form')

Jessi Stern