Summer Camps (Anchorage, Willow, Metlakatla: jobs, housing, college)

[AVaccaro35]

Hi all,

Well, I am young, turned twenty just a couple of months ago, and have spent my entire life living in Massachusetts. About five years ago I was surfing the web late at night bored (some things never change, evidently) and stumbled across some beautiful pictures of the Alaska scenery. Since, it has been a goal of mine to get to Alaska, and to spend at least a somewhat substantial amount of time there.

I realized a couple of months ago that this is something I need to get going on soon, as once I'm done with college and onto the real world I won't be able to experiment like this. If a visit went well, I would strongly consider life out of the lower forty-eight, but I'm not naive enough to think that no matter what I'll love it. I just want to give it a try before the real world chains me to a limited number of options. Frankly, I want an adventure.

I have spent the last 2 summers and will spend this upcoming summer as a camp counsellor, something that I love. I see people come from across New England to spend summers on Cape Cod and work at my camp, so I figured maybe I could take a page out of their playbook and try something similar in Alaska. I suppose my question is, does anybody know any summer camps in Alaska that would hire a kid from across the continent? And what are the qualities of the camps in Alaska? Seeing how I'd be coming in for a summer, I'd imagine most places are fairly warm and I would get a similar camp experience to what I have here. Ideally, I'd be looking for something that runs just as a day camp but has overnight sessions at least every couple of weeks, running from June-end of August. Also, anything that may provide some level of housing would be ideal, too. I know I'm getting a little nit-picky, especially since I don't intend to do this until summer '09, but I figure I really should get an early start on this. It will obviously be a fairly life-shifting experience.

Any and all help would be appreciated! Thanks so much!

[Metlakatla]

I suppose my question is, does anybody know any summer camps in Alaska that would hire a kid from across the continent?

Well, I know there's YMCA camp up above Anchorage on the way to Talkeetna. Let me look into it a bit more and see if I can find something--bear with me because my internet connection is characteristically awful right now.

There are so many college kids who come up to work seasonally though that even if you didn't find something in a camp, you could certainly find a seasonal job of some kind. Most of them do provide housing.

Look here to start with; this place lists jobs by state and now is a good time to be getting in applications:

CoolWorks.com - Summer Jobs and Seasonal Jobs in Great Places

[Metlakatla]

Here's the telephone number for the YMCA Camp I was talking about. Good luck

YMCA Camp Peggy Lake
Willow, Alaska, USA Show Phone # Phone: 907-244-2405

[AVaccaro35]

Thanks so much, especially for the quick response. A summer camp is my first choice because, frankly, it's the only job I've ever enjoyed and/or found slightly rewarding, and also because I'd be doing this alone and a camp provides a strong social base, but I think my desire to experience Alaska is stronger than my desire to work at a camp in Alaska, so I'll definitely be taking a look at the link provided. Also, good to hear a lot of kids do this type of thing. I'd love to meet some people when I go about this.

[warptman]

There is a camp west of here on the Yukon River, it is a Christian Bible Camp/Retreat. They look for volunteers every year. Keep in mind, it is a Bible camp. Here is the information on it.

Home

[AVaccaro35]

Thanks for the info. You guys are quick, although I suppose I'm a few hours ahead of you in terms of time. Much appreciated. However - and this is my bad for not mentioning it in my first post - I'd prefer to keep it as secular as possible (YMCA qualifies for me but not so sure how well a bible type thing would work as I consider myself an agnostic who leans atheistic). But hey, can't hurt to have the info, and thanks again!

EDIT The picture on the camp's main site is gorgeous though.

[Metlakatla]

and also because I'd be doing this alone and a camp provides a strong social base,

Most of the places you might work at up here would give you a social base also, just because there are so many people your age who come up and work seasonally. Most of the places on Coolworks offer an online application process. If you're interested in working at a dog mushing camp on a glacier I could DM you the info--no, I'm not affiliated with it in any way; just something I ran across.

[warptman]

You can also check here...

Alaska Summer Camps

[AVaccaro35]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

If you're interested in working at a dog mushing camp on a glacier I could DM you the info--no, I'm not affiliated with it in any way; just something I ran across.

I'd be happy to gather as much info as possible so, if you don't mind, that'd be great. Right now I just want to start collecting a bunch of options and see where I can go from there.

And not to sound like an overly-corny-tourist type (though, then again, that is exactly what I'd be), but a dog mushing camp sounds about as Alaskan as I could get

[Tressa]

Contact the Alaska RailRoad also or Mt McKinley they hire folks to learn the area and then use them a guide for the tourist, I've seen several kids especially college kids from outside of Alaska come up and do that for the summer.