Alumni Spotlight- September 2019

Lucy Hoffman is featured in our September Alumni Spotlight. Lucy was a camper turned counselor turned admin member, and she is awesome. During her twelve summers at camp, she had an incredibly positive impact on the CRC community, which still lives on today through her campers who are now amazing counselors themselves…yes, she takes some credit for the 2019 2nd Year JCs :). Read below to learn about Lucy’s camp experience and what she is up to now.

What years were you at CRC?
I was at camp from 2005-2016.

Which summer was your favorite and why?
My favorite summer was in 2015 when I was a first year senior counselor. My age group was very tight knit and made so many memories together. We didn’t take a single moment for granted. We had all gone away to different colleges for the first time that past year and coming back to one another on Chippewa soil was everything we needed and more.

What is your favorite camp memory?
Every single barbecue my age group would eat together on the windsurfing docks by the mess hall patio. After being with our respective campers and leading our activities all day, it was nice to be able to have that together time a few times per week. One year after parents weekend, one of the parents gave a friend of mine a slab of ribs as they were dropping off their kids. That night, my whole age group sat on the dock and ate all of the ribs together. Hands down the best ribs I’ve eaten to this day. Nothing beats saucey ribs and a sunset on Dam Lake :)

What was your favorite activity at camp?
Windsurfing

Were you a Tan or a White?
GO TAN

How do you keep in touch with your camp friends?
I am so lucky that my camp friends have turned into my forever friends. They are the first people I call or text when I am happy, sad, feeling goofy, or just have a story or news to share. We are constantly texting, calling, or hanging out. They are my people.

Where do you live now?
Chicago!

What do you do?
Right now, I am getting my Masters in Secondary Education to become a High School Social Studies teacher. I will be student teaching at Niles North this upcoming January. This past summer, though, I was the director of a day camp in Chicago called Game On! Sports Camp 4 Girls. This was an all-girls sports camp focused on empowering girls on and off the field or court, as well as just having a great time.

What do you miss most about camp?
Camp is it’s own little world. The worst day at camp is your best day anywhere else. There is a feeling that you get whenever you return to camp– whether it be to spend a full summer or just a few days. It is the butterflies in your stomach, the smile plastered on your face, the crunch of gravel under your feet (I’m getting the chills just thinking about it) that is so magnetic. Everyone is the truest form of themselves, and I miss that authenticity and environment all the time.

Is there anything else you want to share with your Chippy family?
You’re never too old for camp. Not even when your campers are old enough to be in college or to be your co-workers (which happened this summer to me :)). Not even then. It’s a forever thing.