Internship Highlight – Elijah

Hi, I’m Elijah Vander Pol, and I’m part of the Internship Program at Black Diamond Camp. I am nineteen years old and from Auburn, Washington. Before doing the Internship, I had experienced Camp in many ways. I have been a camper, Summer Staff, and I even went to Rainier Christian Schools, who’s campus is onsite at Camp. Ever since my first experience as a camper, I have always loved it here at Black Diamond Camp.

Camp has always been an inviting and friendly place where I can be myself and make lasting friendships. When I became part of Summer Staff that didn’t change. I got to bring the same experience I loved as a camper to so many kids! I loved what I was doing so much, and I wanted to continue doing it after the summer, so I joined the Internship Program.

The Internship offers a variety of similar and different experiences as Summer Staff. It is a lot more educational about how all parts of Camp operate. During our first few months, we shadowed all the different departments and learned what each person does to make Camp run.

As a person who loves to learn how things work, I enjoyed shadowing everybody! After you shadow each of the departments, you pick one to focus on and shadow for the rest of the Internship. I chose to work with TJ March in the activities department because I want to learn what we do to keep people safe and why we do it. So far, I have learned so much and I’ve had a lot of fun in the process. I loved it so much that I decided to join Summer Staff again as Activities Staff to continue my growth in the activities department.

For more information on the Black Diamond Camp Internship, visit www.blackdiamond.org/internships/

 – Elijah Vander Pol, 2023-34 Intern