Dit-nous en un peu sur le chemin que tu as parcouru pour en arriver là?

Je me suis beaucoup promenée ces dernières années…J’ai passé pas mal de temps en Amérique du Sud, dans l’Ouest canadien et aux États-Unis, à voyager, faire de l’escalade, m’immerser dans des univers différents et découvrir des paysages à couper le souffle. J’ai gradué de l’Université Concordia à Montréal avec un bac en commerce, ai travaillé en marketing à Vancouver, puis j’ai décidé de réorienter ma carrière vers le journalisme. J’ai donc fait mes valises encore une fois et me suis dirigée vers Halifax pour compléter un programme d’un an à Kings. Depuis, j’ai beaucoup écrit pour VICE, et ai travaillé pour CBC à Halifax et au Nunavut (je conseille fortement à quiconque a la chance de se rendre dans le Grand Nord de le faire), et bref, là je suis ici!

Quelles années étais-tu au camp?

2000-2008

Temps Nostalgie! Programme préféré au camp?

Skit night, parce que les campeuses et les monitrices me faisaient toujours rire aux éclats, l’humour y est toujours contagieux…c’est assez magique. Et sinon, il y a bien sûr les feux de camps, les chansons, qui nous donne(nt) un sentiment d’appartenance et de solidarité entre filles. De beaux moments auxquels il m’arrive de penser lorsque le rythme effréné de la ville m’étourdi.

Monitrice préférée?

Je me rappelle de ma première monitrice, Vicky Copland. Je me demande si elle se souvient de moi! Elle était très gentille et m’avait fait sentir très à l’aise, alors que je n’étais qu’une jeune Dékopi ! Je me rappelle aussi de ma CIT dans ma 3e année (je pense?), Hilary Jensen…elle avait l’habitude de jouer de la guitar et chanter du Sinead O’Connor pour nous endormir. Aussi, je tient à faire un shout out à Kate Taylor, ma monitrice de notre senior year….on était un peu (beaucoup) turbulentes ! ;)

Tente ou cabine préférée?

Couch II … ou était-ce couch I ? Je ne me rappelle pas, mais j’étais avec Ana Moriyon, Sarah Einig, Claire Matheson, Suzanne Stenason et une autre fille dont le nom m’échappe. Ça fait longtemps, mais je me rappelle d’innombrables fou rires et de coups pendus…du genre aller voler des biscuit dans la cuisine haha.

Une histoire touchante?

Rien ne me vient en tête mais je sais qu’il y a eu des quantités abondantes de larmes qui ont coulé à la fin de chaque été, lorsque venait le temps de dire au revoir à mes amies, et plus tard mes co-monitrices!

Une histoire drôle?

Une fois quand j’étais CIT, je courrais à travers l’espace gazonné devant les toilettes des Dékopi. Je ne sais pas si c’est toujours le cas, mais cet endroit devenait très vaseux par moments, et semblerait-il que ce serait la fosse sceptique qui faisait défaut…rumeurs ou pas, lorsque j’ai immanquablement trébuché face première dans la substance brunâtre, je me suis vite dépêchée d’accourir au lac pour m’y jeter tout habillée, ce qui a bien fait rire les campeuses et les monitrice présentes… (note de l’éditrice: soyez rassurés! nous avons depuis réparé le tuyau en question!)

Une manière (ou une histoire) expliquant comment le camp a eu un impact à long terme sur ta vie?

Je pense que ça m’a fait le plus grand bien de passer mes étés dans la nature, à me surpasser et à forger des amitiés vraies et durables, surtout dans mes années d’adolescence. J’y ai développé des qualités de leadership, d’empathie et d’entraide.

Un message pour les monitrices et campeuses d’aujourd’hui?

Ça va faire 8 ans cet été que je ne suis plus retournée au camp, et ça me manque! Je pense au camp à chaque été, et compte bien y envoyer mes filles un jour, si j’en ai! Je voudrais dire aux campeuses de profiter pleinement de leur expérience, qu’elles sont des filles fortes, capables et intelligentes. Il règne au camp une énergie unique, que je n’ai jamais vue recréée ailleurs, malgré tous les pays que j’ai parcourus et les gens que j’ai rencontrés au fil des ans. Ouareau girls, you make me smile :-)

Et finalement, quelque chose que tu aimes ou qui te fais rire ces temps ci?

J’ai joint une ligue de ballon-chasseur récemment et je suis accro. Pour ceux qui me connaissent, je suis hyper grande et ‘’lanky’’, et c’est assez drôle de me voir aller.

Merci beaucoup de ta participation! Si quelqu’un aimerait entrer en contact avec toi, quelle est la meilleure manière de s’y prendre?

Camp throwback time! Favourite program? There are so many! During my first or second summer, when Nara McDonald (Stockwell) was the program director, there was a Christmas in July program. Jacqui’s brother Tracy dressed up as Santa Claus and the green machine was his “sleigh”. That was great fun!  I have fond memories of epic Olympics, and super fun land water relays and staff plays in which the Raill brothers were part of the cast. I also have fond memories of seeing Robin Allen perform his Hippopotamus song during Sunday evening programs. I remember having unit nights in Wawa and also having several rained out cabin overnights in Wawa and Drift Inn, back in the day when we cooked (usually hot dogs and s’mores) in the fireplaces in those buildings.

Favourite counsellor? I was never a camper, only a staff member. I was very proud when I received my 5 year pin and then my ten year paddle. They are treasured keepsakes. There are many fellow staff I have admired over the years for their patience and their dedication to providing wonderful and creative camp experiences for the campers. Over the years, I was privileged to have worked alongside with many staff who were campers. My Camp Ouareau connections remain near and dear to me. It is a pleasure to be able to keep in touch with many former campers/CITs and fellow staff via social media and find out what they are doing professionally and personally.

Favourite cabin or tent? I enjoyed all of the cabin and tent groups I had.  It was a pleasure being Gab’s counselor in the original Boathouse in 1993.  I enjoyed my summer as CIT director.  I have been lucky to have done many different jobs at camp. I also liked being Unit head (or “unicorn”) as you got to know an entire section of camp really well.  It was also an honour to begin to attempt to archive and document Ouareau’s history.

Most emotional story? In the evening during the 70th anniversary reunion weekend, a group of alumnae were standing around the piano in the lodge with the old Anglican church hymnary books that were used for Sunday morning “chapel” (editor’s note: what we now call La Roche). They were singing beautiful hymns in 4 part harmony. I think Cameron and Tyne Allhouse’s mother was one of the singers. It was a magic moment to hear beautiful music being sung with such reverence. I also remember the time when Joyce Bertram came to visit Ouareau and how Ferg was so excited about her visit. Attending Ferg’s funeral was a sombre and emotional experience. I remember standing in a circle with a large group of alumna with our arms crossed and holding hands while we sang Taps as a final tribute to Ferg. During the summer of the 75th anniversary, I was the head of canoeing. I remember 2 older alumna came down to the canoe docks to go for a paddle. I asked if they wanted any refreshers on their strokes. They politely declined but asked if I wanted to join them. We went all the way to Sandy and back in choppy waters but they paddled like it was a calm lac Ouareau day. They were recounting what life at camp was like for them in the 1940s and 1950s, back in the day when gunwale bobbing and doing other stunts were commonplace, and there was hardly any other buildings or boat traffic on the lake. One of them was Jackrabbit Johannsen’s (the legendary Nordic skier of the Laurentians) daughter.  I wish I could have recorded the stories they told me as we toured the lake.

Funniest story? I have many memories of times where I laughed so hard at camp that it hurt while watching skit nights, the Depoki or Chipka plays or cow stunts. I also remember the love-hate relationship that the staff had with squirrels and mice who liked to help themselves to pretty much anything on the shelves, in the various storage cupboards, the computer wires, etc. in some staff cabins, in the office, in the old cow bung and in the trip shed. In the office, I remember trying all kinds of elaborate ways to keep out the unwanted visitors. In the mid 1990s, the 819-424-2662 number was a combined telephone and fax line. One evening after Taps, as I was sorting out the growing pile of faxes, I ended up attempting to chase away an unwelcome rodent who had tried to run away with a page of a fax that it had started chewing. I wasn’t aware how loud I was as I yelled at the mouse to scare it away (uumm, what was I thinking?). The counselors on night duty came running to the office because they thought I was trying to fend off some sort of attacker in a camp office intrusion. I also have fond memories of visiting camp during winter and walking on the snow and ice around Blueberry Island with Jacqui, Don and other Ouareau visitors. I loved seeing camp in the fall when Those Silent Hills had vibrant autumn colours.

A way (or a story of) camp impacting you in the long run? I feel that the many summers I spent as a “cow” at Ouareau were personally transformative. During the first few summers I worked at camp, there were staff members and campers from all over Canada, from France, Belgium, England, Australia and later, many staff and campers who came from Mexico and the US to have a 2nd language immersion experience. My summers at camp was a fantastic way for me to interact with people from parts of the world I had not yet been to and it gave me a greater appreciation of “le monde de la francophonie” and Quebec culture.   I learned to appreciate the small things in life such as eating warm Sunday buns, seeing the northern lights, admiring many amazing Ouareau sunsets, paddling way down in the bay in “Fern Gully” on Sunday mornings with a camper who was mastering how to stern a canoe to look out for beavers that used to live around that corner of the lake.  

Message to the campers and counsellors of today? Working at camp and living in a very close knit residential camp environment can be very demanding at times but I feel it is one of the best jobs you could ever have during your latter high school and college/university days. I “defected” a few times in the 1990s and worked at 3 other summer camps as I wanted to see what other camps were like and to stretch my leadership skills in a new camp environment. When I returned to Ouareau, my appreciation of the traditions, the cabin structure and programming of camp activities increased exponentially. I think the Raills have done outstanding work in making Ouareau one of the best (and prettiest!) private residential camps in Canada. Camp Ouareau has changed with the times. It astounds me how many more safety and legal camping association regulations that must be followed in order for camp to operate.  However, the core elements of living in an unplugged natural environment where campers from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds learn to live with each other, learn new skills and learn about themselves AND have lots of FUN in the process remains the same.   It has truly been a privilege to have witnessed so many Ouareau girls grow up and become strong, accomplished and confident women. I love seeing that camp songs and other Ouareau “ways” have positively impacted so many former staff and campers who are now parents looking after their own children. It is wonderful that so many of my fellow staff now have their own daughters or nieces attending Ouareau.  Although I do not get to see my camp friends often, it is always wonderful to reconnect with them.  

And finally, what’s something that’s making you laugh or that you’re really into right now? I enjoy the many channels on Buzzfeed when I have time to kill or if I need a laugh. I am also trying to learn German.  Apparement, parce que je suis capable de communiquer en français, I should be able to pick up German but it has been a struggle. The Austrian Alps are also close by which has an abundance of great places to ski and hike.

Thanks so much for taking part in this! If people want to reach out to you, where/how should they do so? I do like Facebook as a way of connecting to people (and procrastinating!).  My personal email is [email protected]

Tell us a bit about how you got there?

I worked in the not-for-profit sector for a while, largely in youth programming and community development. I hung out with an organization called Katimavik for a bit on the East Coast, and then made my way back to Ontario to work with Free The Children. I moved into the private sector for a short while, looking to increase the time I spent on actively building community and doing training.

My background is in environmental ethics and adult education, and starting my own initiative was not something I ever thought I would be doing. In all of my jobs, I did a lot of people management, training and coaching. I discovered coaching about 2 years ago, and I felt an incredible pull to this transformational world of people driven by compassion and empathy.

Camp throwback time! Favourite program?

Do canoe trips count as a favourite program? I can’t remember a time when I laughed so much as I did on canoe trips. Especially the really hard core trips like to La Mauricie National Park. (For those of you not in the know, La Mauricie is like the 5-star hotels of parks. We called home on our canoe trip).

Favourite counsellor?

Carinna Pellet. She taught me some bad-ass canoeing skills. Music was also a big part of camp for me, and Carinna is an incredible musician!

Favourite cabin or tent?

For sure Wawateisi. For my CIT year, we lived in Wawa, and it was both terrifying and amazing at the same time. Things were living in walls, there was definitely something creepy in the old outhouse right in front of the door, and I’m pretty sure all of the beds moved a few inches everyday….down a slope in the cabin. Being a CIT at camp feels very much like you’re in an exclusive club, and we had the greatest clubhouse around.

editor’s note - Wawa is now most definitely a storage-only cabin!

Most emotional story?

I have no non-teary eyed photos of anyone the last day of my CIT year. Thinking back on it now, it somewhat marked the end of years of experience at camp as a camper and as a CIT, and shifted to something different. We talked a lot about the difference between experiencing the magic of camp as a camper vs. creating the magic as a counsellor. I think part of the end of the CIT year was a recognition that some of those experiences were now our responsibility to create and traditions were ours to carry on.

Plus, I think it’s one of those moments that when one person starts laughing, you all start laughing for no real reason…except we were crying. The tears did not end!

Funniest story?

As a first-year counsellor, one of my campers was sick, and I had to run to the bathroom to get some supplies. I was so nervous about my camper group getting sick, or not having an amazing time at all moments. I jumped off of the porch of the cabin, and ran full speed into a clothes line. My legs went up in the air, and I hit the ground with a loud thud. It was dusk, and I couldn’t see the clothes line. Saving grace? I was alone. No one saw. No one has known until now.

A way camp impacted you in the long run?

I can vividly remember going through some of the most difficult and emotionally challenging moments in my life at camp. I learned respect from the counsellors around me, how to support others in a team, how to genuinely be myself, how to have fun and let go of the small stuff once in a while, and how to create incredibly meaningful friendships.

Message to the campers and counsellors of today?

Get out in a canoe, kayak, whatever, at sunrise on the lake. I dream of those moments spent watching the sun rise as the mist rolled off the lake. That is true magic.

And finally, what’s something that’s making you laugh or that you’re really into right now?

This video: Don’t make unnecessary journeys!!!! (this storm is sort of like a regular day of rain at camp….#weararaincoat)

Thanks so much for taking part in this! If people want to reach out to you, where/how should they do so?