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What Makes a Great Camp Counselor?

By Adam Simon | April 25, 2019 | Comments Off on What Makes a Great Camp Counselor?
Georgios excited

  My friend Neil and I were talking about camp the other day, and he said that when he was looking for a camp for his son years ago, he only got to meet the camp Directors. While it may have been somewhat helpful, he knew that ultimately it would be his son’s counselors who…

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Passionately Becoming True to Ourselves at Summer Camp

By Adam Simon | April 8, 2019 | Comments Off on Passionately Becoming True to Ourselves at Summer Camp
Phoebe in the art hut and adjacent image of her in the woods

The following post comes from Phoebe, and it’s really something. Phoebe’s passion for our loving community shines through here in a way that’s different from many of the posts we’ve put up this year, and we thought it’d be really valuable to share with you. Enjoy! Phoebe’s Take on Odyssey Teen Camp “Odyssey Teen Camp…

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What’s It Like to Run a Summer Camp with Many Transgender and Gender-Expansive Teens?

By Adam Simon | February 1, 2019 | Comments Off on What’s It Like to Run a Summer Camp with Many Transgender and Gender-Expansive Teens?
Group of all kinds of teens

Twenty years ago, I was a middle-aged guy with a corporate job that never felt like a good fit for me. Today, I run an unconventional summer camp where up to one in four teens identifies as transgender or gender non-conforming. The journey has been an unexpected one. An idea of a camp for teens…

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Veteran Camper Turned Counselor Reflects on 15yrs at OTC

By Adam Simon | April 17, 2018 | Comments Off on Veteran Camper Turned Counselor Reflects on 15yrs at OTC
Georgios Tsangaris laughing hard

Adam Simon on “the Georgios effect” One of the highlights of going to camp for me is getting to work with Georgios Tsangaris. Georgios came to camp when he was 15 for our first summer, and now he’s 31. He has only missed two years of camp during those sixteen years. Georgios knows our camp…

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Let the Little Moments Happen – Staff Culture at Odyssey

By Adam Simon | March 24, 2018 | Comments Off on Let the Little Moments Happen – Staff Culture at Odyssey
Allie and friend

This blog post comes from one of our first-time counselors, Allie. While Allie had many years of camp experience, this was her first time at Odyssey Teen Camp—and as she describes, it totally changed her view of what camp could really be for campers and staff alike. Allie’s story At first, I didn’t know what…

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Magic: The Gathering Card Game at Odyssey Teen Camp

By Adam Simon | February 14, 2018 | Comments Off on Magic: The Gathering Card Game at Odyssey Teen Camp
6 young men at Odyssey Teen Camp showing off a rare card from a booster pack at Odyssey Teen Camp.

At Odyssey Teen Camp, we have a rich and diverse selection of classes for campers to choose from. One that has become very popular in the last few years is our Magic: The Gathering intensive, where campers get to play the game together in a week-long activity block. One of our counselors, Aaron, has been…

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Midnight Tea: A New Camp Tradition

By Adam Simon | January 31, 2018 | Comments Off on Midnight Tea: A New Camp Tradition
Kaya in the art hut

Every year, we get returning campers who come to Odyssey Teen Camp for their second, third, fourth, or fifth year at camp. If you came to camp and loved it, returning might seems like a no-brainer. But what if most of the friends you made in the past aren’t going to be there? This is…

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Rays of Sunshine at Odyssey Teen Camp

By Adam Simon | April 22, 2017 | Comments Off on Rays of Sunshine at Odyssey Teen Camp
Matthew and his parents at the Hollywood Bowl

Teenage boy finds hope and connection at summer camp Being a young person is perhaps harder now than it ever was before. The pressures that society can place on our teens is immense – teachers demand better grades, coaches demand more time and better performances on the athletic field, and the temptations put upon our teens by their peers…

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Helping Every LGBTQ+ Camper to Feel Safe, Respected and Honored

By Adam Simon | January 24, 2017 | Comments Off on Helping Every LGBTQ+ Camper to Feel Safe, Respected and Honored
Campers dress up and have fun at events

About eleven years ago, a counselor named Erik, who is gay, called me into the middle of one of our community meetings. He told me I needed to do more to support the LGBTQ community at camp. I remember feeling a little defensive and thinking, “what does he want me to do?” Looking back, I…

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A 14-Year Old Finds Compassion for Her Parents Through a Buddhism Workshop at Teen Camp

By Odyssey Teen Camp | February 5, 2016 | Comments Off on A 14-Year Old Finds Compassion for Her Parents Through a Buddhism Workshop at Teen Camp
Shira smiles peacefully in with hands folded looking up at the ceiling while lying in her bed

This next story comes from Shira. She talks about how her camp experience helped her find a new way of living she had only dreamed was possible. Shira’s story “Someone the other day asked me what the correlation between who I am, who I want to be, and who I think I should be was.…

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Find Out About Odyssey Teen Camp

A Non-Profit Overnight Summer Camp For Teens Ages 13-18
Located in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.

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