City of Austin - Austin Nature and Science Center

Overview

My first summer with the City of Austin's Austin Nature and Science Center was spent working in Inclusion and summer camp programs that brought kids outside for archery, rock climbing, canoeing, biking, swimming, and overnight camping in and around Austin. Camps typically ran long, active days built around exploration, teamwork, and outdoor skills.

I initially joined as a part time Inclusion Counselor who floated between groups, providing extra support for campers who needed more attention or for more demanding activities. Midway through the summer, after another counselor was injured, I was promoted to a full time camp counselor and took on full group leadership responsibilities, including driving a 15 passenger van, managing daily schedules, and leading activities end to end.

Role & Activities

The role combined direct youth leadership, inclusion support, and a lot of practical logistics. Over the course of the summer I:

• Started as an extra counselor assigned to groups in addition to the regular two leads, focusing on campers who needed extra support and helping with higher risk or more complex activities.
• Was promoted mid summer to a full time counselor responsible for a group's day to day experience, including check in, transitions between activities, and end of day wrap up.
• Drove a 15 passenger van to transport campers between activities such as archery ranges, rock climbing areas, canoe launches on Lady Bird Lake, biking trails around Zilker, snorkeling in the San Marcos River, and daily swims at Barton Springs.
• Led and supervised activities like archery, climbing, overnight camping, canoeing, biking, and free swim, making sure each camper was accounted for, hydrated, fed, and within safety guidelines.
• Used downtime for structured games, card games, and informal activities that kept campers engaged and helped build group cohesion.
• Mentored Counselors in Training (CITs) who were high school volunteers, giving them direction, feedback, and a model for how to lead groups safely and professionally.

Day to day, that meant constantly scanning for safety issues, social dynamics, and environmental risks while still keeping camp fun and fast paced.

Highlights

• Stepped up from a part time floating role into a full time lead counselor position mid season, taking over full responsibility for a camper group after another counselor was injured.
• Safely transported and supervised groups of campers in a 15 passenger van across multiple off site locations per day without incident.
• Helped de-escalate conflicts between campers using redirection and calm conversation, keeping small disputes from turning into bigger issues and getting kids back into activities quickly.
• Created a positive, predictable experience for campers by combining clear expectations, consistent routines, and simple games or card activities during transitional downtime.
• Supported Inclusion goals by giving extra attention where needed while still keeping the whole group moving on schedule.

Skills & Tools

Outcomes

• Helped deliver a safe, consistent camp experience for groups of kids across a full Austin summer, even as responsibilities increased from part time support to full time leadership.
• Built practical leadership skills that translate directly into technical team settings, such as staying calm under pressure, managing many moving pieces, and keeping people aligned on the plan.
• Gained early experience balancing inclusion, safety, and fun, which informs how I think about communication and responsibility in engineering teams today.

Gallery

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