Alumni Spotlight- April 2023

This month’s Alumni Spotlight features Melissa Spero! During her summers at camp, Melissa showed a deep love of and care for her campers, activities and camp programming. As a camper and as a counselor, Melissa shaped the camp experiences of so many with her throughfulness and kindness, and we absolutely love having her as a part of our CRC alumni community! Read below to learn all about Melissa’s time at Chippewa as well as about her life in Chicago!

What years were you at CRC?
I was at CRC from 2009-2020 and part of Summer 2021.

Which summer was your favorite and why?
This is such a hard question because I loved them all and there was something that makes each one my favorite. I think I would have to say my Lakeview summer as a camper was my favorite, because I loved living with my whole age group and having more responsibility around camp like planning 4th and Chippy Awards. As a counselor, my favorite summer was summer 2018 because of my campers, co’s, and friends who were at camp then. Cabin Rentals 2020 gets an honorable mention too!

What is your favorite camp memory?
Again, there are too many to choose from! My favorites are dance parties, late nights star-gazing, sitting on the Daisy or Jenny Bench just talking, and times that my friends and I were laughing until we were crying. One specific favorite memory when I was a camper was when my friend carried me on her back all over camp because I forgot my shoes. She learned too far forward and I flipped over her head and fell into the mud. We laughed until we were crying!

What was your favorite activity at camp?
My favorite activity at camp was sailing!

Were you a Tan or a White?
White!

How do you keep in touch with your camp friends?
I constantly text, FaceTime and snapchat with my camp friends. There’s not a day that I don’t talk to them in one way or another. We also make plans to hang out all the time.

Where do you live now?
I live in Chicago.

What do you do?
I’m in my second year of Law School.

What do you miss most about camp?
The thing I miss most about camp is the carefree feeling. Everyone at camp knows they can be their silly selves in a way that is not there in the “outside world”. My campers also deserve a special shout out here since they told me this past summer that they think I get separation anxiety from not being with them all summer.

Anything else you want to share with your Chippy family?
Camp will always be part of your life no matter when you stop being a camper or a counselor- you will always be a Chippy. Your camp friends will always be your best friends no matter how much time goes by between phone calls, how old you are or the age difference between you and your friends. It’s such a special community to be part of that will always be there.