Four years ago, some of my friends and I took a leap of faith after our high school graduation and applied for a summer job in a state eight hours away. We knew no one except each other, but we soon found a family at Camp Bob for the Queen City. The staff, the volunteers, our campers—all of them became our summer family in a way that I could never have understood prior to being a part of such a transformative camp experience. I have the opportunity to work alongside some of the most driven and passionate people who pour themselves into building the best experiences for our campers; I have the opportunity to watch each of my girls realize their own strength as they overcome obstacles on our team building challenge course or go canoeing for the first time. In the past four years I have had many return campers, and being able to watch them grow in their self confidence, their personality, and their creativity (I teach arts and crafts) has been the greatest gift. In my opinion that aspect of Camp Bob—growth—is a big part of why I keep coming back. In part, this growth is logistic: every year our camp gets better and better, we improve our connection and outreach which means that we get to invite more organizations and campers to join us in an unforgettable week. Yet this growth has also shown up in less visible ways: watching as my campers who were strangers at the beginning of the week begin making each other friendship bracelets or hearing one of my most shy campers proudly tell me that they rang the bell at the very top of our climbing wall.
I love Camp Bob for the week I get to share with the incredible staff, volunteers, and campers of North Carolina, and I am thankful to Camp Bob for the QC for every way it has shaped me into the person I am today.
-Kamryn Schultz, 2026