My first day at Emma Kaufmann Camp was May 31^st, 2022, and little did I know, seven months later, I would be having my first day as a full-time EKC staff member. In both instances, I was greeted with an onboarding experience that made me feel like the most important employee on staff. Relatively new to the professional world, it was not until I arrived on the shores of Cheat Lake and then at the EKC offices in Squirrel Hill that I truly appreciated how brief experiences can literally change lives.

To be clear, it wasn’t just the personal invitation from the Camp Director for an early morning cup of coffee on my first day or the office decorations made from pictures of some of my favorite people from last summer or the small group lunches I had with other JCC staff from across the agency. Rather, it was the level of thought, intentionality, and warmth that went into creating a deeply memorable and impactful onboarding experience that made this recent transplant from Florida feel at home not only in my workplace but within the local Pittsburgh community as well.

It is this newfound appreciation for the power of moments that I am most excited to bring to my role as EKC’s Senior Director of Programming.

Programming is a massive part of life at EKC and we want to ensure that each programmatic element our campers and staff encounter creates a unique experience for them. By strengthening each element like the daily activities our campers go to, out-of-camp trips, and special unit programs, to name a few, we can make sure each member of the EKC family has their own special camp adventure. It’s important to find ways to make camp feel fresh for our campers each day, with new possibilities in reach. This summer I want to focus on the moments that make a memory. Expanding the definition of an activity usually seen as straightforward can create a whole new opportunity for kids to grow. Emphasizing creative, inclusive programming strategies with our staff can open a new world for our campers to explore and learning to celebrate that moment of trying something new is just as important. For our teens, camp can feel like the same old same old, but with new programming, we can make sure they’re having the experiences that draw them back to camp year after year. By design, we aim to have our programming grow, as our campers grow. No one cares about Camp quite as our staff does, they are the roots of the EKC community, and the programs we do for them should reflect that. I want our programming this summer to acknowledge the work they do, celebrate it, and most of all thank them for it.

EKC promises connections, values, growth, and fun. It’s imperative that our programming reflects those promises, and we have many plans to make that happen this summer. Staff and campers should have more opportunities to make a positive impact on each other, something we can do with more all-camp programs like Color War and Israel Day. One of our goals is to weave the Jewish values our campers learn into more moments throughout the day, we can apply what is taught in our Jewish Teachable Moments activity into Athletics and Arts & Crafts. Restructuring the way our daily activities and chugim activities are run will give our campers a chance to build on the skills they are learning. Finally, I want to prioritize creating moments for our campers, so that they have an unforgettable summer, just like I had an unforgettable first week at the JCC with the moments created for me.