When I was a kid I went to the YMCA from K-6th grade. My last year as a Y Kid I got to go to the YMCA Summer camp in Big Bear called Camp Whittle. I had one of the best times of my life at that time as a kid. It was only a week, but it was so much fun I couldn't wait to go next year. Only to find out that since I was now in Jr. High, I couldn't go to Camp Whittle any more I had to go to a surf camp instead. It still sounded fun, but not what I wanted to do, so I never got to go back. That is until I was graduating High School and one of my friends told me about a volunteering opportunity as a camp counselor at the same camp that I went to as a kid! I applied immediately, had one of the best times of my life yet again, but this time as a counselor. I returned every year to volunteer for a week over the Summer for about 6 years. From there I moved into what I thought would be my career in the movie business. Once I moved up to the Bay Area, I decided to go back to what I knew and loved, working with kids. I applied at the Mission branch in San Francisco for their Summer program, became a Unit Director and moved my way through many different sites and experiences in the Y, including after school at the Mission YMCA, COVID Summer camp at Point Bonita, Learning hubs in the Presidio & Corte Madera and now in Marin at Lu Sutton Elementary. Working with kids and seeing them grow has really inspired me to work with the Y and getting to have fun and see them smile is a big aspect of why I love what I do.