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It’s Never Too Late

As a happy Jacobs camper for 7 years, I always imagined that I’d be on staff once I became old enough and got to college. I had amazing counselors when I was there and knew I wanted to help recreate that experience for new campers as soon as I could. Unfortunately, that’s not how it worked out. Instead, I went off to college and always found myself busy over summer break with other jobs or internships, and I wasn’t able to find my way back to camp. Then I graduated, and assumed that my window had pretty much closed – after all, it had been years since I was last at camp. Then I got a message from Sarah Tucker, and suddenly the window flew wide open again. She told me that camp was looking for a Creative Arts department head, and I jumped on the opportunity to apply. I graduated college with degrees in theatre and arts management, so the arts are a huge part of my life and career moving forward. The chance to explore the arts with Jacobs campers is a perfect intersection of my passion for the arts and my desire to return to camp.

The Creative Arts department this year is broken down into four different areas: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, STEM, and Culinary Arts. Every single camper will have an opportunity to be involved with at least one program in each of those areas, so they’ll get a very well-rounded look at our department and what we have to offer. My hope is that every camper finds something they enjoy in the arts this year, and that they learn something new about art and about themselves. In Visual Arts, campers will get to learn about the fashion industry and ways that we can all live more sustainable lives; in STEM, they’ll learn about innovation and problem solving; in Performing Arts, they’ll learn how to create collaborative scenes and develop their ideas as a group; and in Culinary Arts, they’ll learn the basics of how to work in a kitchen, along with getting to make (and eat!) some fun Jewish foods.

Creativity, innovation, and collaboration are all major tenets of the arts which help create well-rounded people. Overall, my biggest goal is to help every camper realize that everyone has a little bit of artist in them.

Tanner McCormick joins the Leadership Team at Jacobs Camp this summer as the Creative Arts Department Head. Tanner was a camper for 7 summers and this will be his first summer on staff!