The people behind the summer

Meet Z, part of the team building the staff for our 90th summer.

When people think about summer camp, they picture all these good things: Cabins in the woods. Laughter across a field. A camper learning to swim for the first time. Whispers after lights out.

What rarely comes to mind is February. In February (and January, and even December), Z Shekoni is already thinking about summer.

As Outreach Coordinator, Z helps lead the hiring of nearly 200 seasonal staff each year. The path to Crossroads was interesting and unique, just like Z. With a degree in construction management and years working on the railroad across several southern states, a move to Boston during the pandemic eventually led to camp. A connection to a trusted C5 alum who was returning to Crossroads every summer, first opened the door.

“I kept hearing about the impact,” Z says. “So I thought, let me see what’s going on over there.”

Camp began with an office manager role. That grew into supporting pathway weekends and coaching young leaders with Z's brand of exuberance. Over time came a close understanding of camp’s rhythms and needs from the inside.

Now that experience shapes the work of building the summer team.

Building the Team

Each year, Crossroads hires young adults between 18 and 23. The average counselor is about 20 or 21. Z is not looking for one specific personality.

“Our kids have so many different personalities,” she says. “We need that same range to guide them.”

Some campers respond to big energy. Others open up to someone quieter. Some need encouragement to try something new. Some need someone who will sit and listen.

“It’s like a puzzle,” she says. “You want the right people in the right places at the right times.”

Last summer, half of our seasonal staff returned - wow! Some were former campers. Some were current C5 Leaders. Some are educators who come back year after year. Some C5 alum return from college and have that full circle moment sharing their own first-hand experiences as mentors.

At the end of each season, Z often hears campers talk about their favorite counselor.

“It’s usually, ‘This person just got me,’” says Z. “He understood me. He listened.’”

The goal during the hiring process is that each child find that special person who just "gets" them.

Ninety Summers

As Crossroads prepares for its 90th summer, much of camp will feel the same. Cabins. Campfires. The dining hall. First swim tests. 

(left to right) Z Shekoni, Paul Wahlberg, Amy Duggan, Crossroads' Outreach Manager, during last summer's lunch "takeover" at Camp Wing by former camper, now chef, Paul Wahlberg.

What has remained constant for ninety years is that the summer experience depends on the people who show up each June ready to lead a cabin, teach at the waterfront, sit beside a homesick camper, organize a game on the field, or listen at the end of a long day.

Nearly 200 young adults will step into that role this summer. Some were once campers here. Some are C5 Leaders. Some are joining Crossroads for the first time. Some come back summer after summer and watch our young people grow and change. Each one will shape what a young person remembers: who encouraged them to try, who noticed when they were quiet, who made them feel like they belonged.

That has always been the heart of the Crossroads experience.

Interested in being part of our 90th summer?

Explore current job opportunities and learn more about joining the Crossroads team