John is a rising junior at the University of Mary Washington. He's majoring in both music and physics, as well as minoring in mathematics. It is his first summer working with SEP, and lives in Lefevre, on a 7th grade hall.
What about SEP made you want to work here?
I loved SEP as a camper, and I really wanted to come back so I can share that joy with a new generation of campers.
What's your special topic?
My special topic is Miniature Mythbusters. We'll be studying projectile motion, electricity, magnetism, and viscosity.
What's your favorite part of camp? Why?
My favorite part of camp is hall time. It's great to be able to create a structured activity for the campers and then watch them get to know each other.
What's your favorite memory from being a camper?
My favorite memory as a camper was being in a setting where everybody wanted to be there for the first time.
Which food do you prefer: O-Hill or St. Anne's?
Definitely St. Anne's. The food at St. Anne's is cooked by a crew who care about what they do, and is both healthy and environmentally conscious. Not to mention it is above and beyond any college dining hall in terms of quality and day-to-day variety.
What's something about you that someone might not expect if they didn't know you well?
If someone didn't know me well, they would be surprised that I'm outgoing and strongly opinionated. I tend to keep to myself until I'm comfortable around everybody.
When you first started working here, what's something that surprised you?
I was definitely surprised by how quickly I bonded with my fellow counselors.
Any funny stories from the summer so far?
During the first big rec time of the session, I was playing soccer with about 8 kids. Two others counselors came over to me with goofy grins and asked if I could move the kids away from where we were real quick. Once we had moved I looked over to watch the two of them, and saw them holding a squirrel that had apparently gotten its head stuck in a trash can.
What do you think will be/is the most difficult part of the job?
So far at least, the most difficult part of the job is keeping 8 hyper 12 year old boys under control.
What do you know about gifted education?
I feel that I know a fair bit about gifted education. When I began kindergarten at my public school my parents discovered that they had been drawing funding for a gifted program without actually providing it. After that situation was remedied, my class was the first to go through our growing gifted program starting with a teacher, one fellow student, and myself doing 1 hour lessons in a redecorated janitorial closet. After a few years the program had developed into something you could actually call a program, and encompassed grades K-5 with around 100 kids. Coming from that experience, I understand the challenges that gifted children go through and hope that we will always continue to value our best students.
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