Counselor of the Day: Robert Morris

For our first counselor of the day, we'll be profiling Robert Morris. Robert works in the 5-8 camp with some of SEP's youngest campers.

Robert is a rising second year at the University of Virginia. He plans to major in physics.

How long have you been with SEP?

This is my first year working at SEP, but I attended as camper in 10th and 11th grade. I had such a great time...I wish I had found out about the camp earlier!

Why did you want to work here?

I absolutely loved SEP as a camper, and I thought being a counselor would be even more fun getting to hangout with the campers and the counselors all the time.

What's your special topic?

My special topic is called "Exploring the French Language and Culture." In my class, we begin by going over the very basics of the language, then proceed to watch a French children's movie, "Asterix et Cleopatre," with subtitles to show the kids how the language sounds. On the next day we play a game of bocce, as it is a really popular game in France.

What's your favorite part of camp and why?

The Trivia Challenge is a ton of fun. It's great for the counselors to come up with the questions and show what they know, and it's great for the campers because they get to prove how smart they are. It's cool to see which group of campers are the king brainiacs.

What's your hall theme?

My theme is playing cards and suits, so I decorated the campers doors with different face cards: the Ace of spades, the Jack of hearts, the Queen of clubs, and the King of diamonds. I'm the Joker as the final room.

What was your favorite memory from being a camper?

My favorite memory was definitely rapping about the board game Risk with my suite when I was going into 11th grade, because it was well planned and hilarious to admit our love of Risk.

Do you prefer eating at O-Hill or St. Anne's?

I prefer the food at St. Annes. I've experienced O-Hill first hand for a year, and from just a week of eating at St. Anne's the food there is so much better.

What's something about you that someone might not expect if they didn't know you well?

I really enjoy singing as long as I know the words to a song. 

When you first started working here, what's something that surprised you?

I was surprised by how quickly the counselors all got to know each other. We haven't known each other that long but already we're very close friends.

What's a funny story that's happened at camp so far?

As soon as they arrived, my campers gave me the nickname of "Robbie Bobby," and they've stuck with that name this whole time. 

What do you think will be the most difficult part of the job?

The most difficult part of the job I think will be keeping all the kids satisfied with every activity that's going on. These campers are all very unique and a lot of the time they don't want to participate in the same activity. So getting everyone to join in an activity--let alone try--can be a tough task.

What do you think about gifted education?

To be honest, I don't know too much about gifted education, but I think it's a solid program because those who excel in school should be recognized and I believe gifted ed does a good job doing that.