Written By: Abbey W.

37 days to go until my summer camp adventure! So, I should probably explain that excited statement.

I’m Abbey, a university student born in New Zealand who has lived in Scotland for as long as I can remember. This summer, on the 9th of June, I’m flying to Toronto to have the summer of a lifetime. I’m working in Ontario for 10 weeks in June, July, and August. It’s been a pretty short journey to this point, thanks to NYQUEST!

It all started on the 15th of January. As part of a university society, I found out about Camp Canada, who posted on our society page. I filled out their pre-application form, which just asked me a few details and what skills I had that would be useful in a summer camp. Very shortly after that, I was asked to fill in the full application form, which asked me questions about camp skills, previous experience, and availability to work over the summer.

By the 20th of January, I had been invited to be interviewed by one of the NYQUEST team. I spoke to Simone on the 22nd of January, who was LOVELY. It was the second least stressful interview of my life (the least stressful will come later in this post)! Within a few days, I had been accepted into the program and started uploading all the required documents to continue the process. I only needed a medical check and a police check, plus a copy of my passport, to get to the next stage.

Next up was camp placement. On the 26th of January, only 11 days after my initial application, I was notified of a suitable camp placement. Ten days later, I had my interview with the Camp Director, which was THE least stressful interview ever! I was really nervous, I’ll be honest, but he made me feel very relaxed, and it felt very much like he just wanted to get to know me a bit, rather than grilling me about my skills and experience.

Finally, on the 20th of February, I was offered a placement at camp, my position being ‘Camp Craft’. I’ll be teaching kids how to put up tents, create safe campfires, cook outdoors, and identify plants, all on the shores of the beautiful Canoe Lake. So after only 5 weeks, I had gone from applying to having a job offer on the other side of the world.

As I write this, I’m waiting on confirmation of my work permit. I’ve booked my flights, organized accommodation in Toronto, and even planned a little trip to Niagara Falls before camp starts, all thanks to the lovely staff at NYQUEST. They have been so helpful and supportive, even through my incessant questioning of every little detail (sorry guys)! (editor: We don’t mind! We’re happy to help!)

So here’s to a summer in Canada! I’m expecting to come back with a great tan, but in reality, my Scottish genes will persuade me to get fantastically sunburnt instead. At least I’ll have the memories to make up for it!