Episode 106: Jonesy Reflects on Being a Camper, Counselor, and Camp Parent

Fifth year staff member, “Matcha,” shares about her initial hesitancy to come work at camp and how much she’s experienced and grown over her four summers. This year, Matcha will be one of the leaders in the kitchen. Along with her team, she’ll be making sure all of us have delicious food and lots of healthy options at every meal.

This episode features Sunshine’s chat with Smokey, who will be a Head Counselor this summer at GAC. Smokey shares about her childhood summer camp experiences and how she creates memorable moments for campers at GAC.

Welcome to the 2026 Season of the Gold Arrow Camp Podcast! In this episode, Sunshine talks about the GAC Philosophy (Vision, Mission, & Goals) and how we focus on building specific character traits and skills that lead to well-being. This summer, our theme is Crank up the Thanks. Our focus is building our gratitude, a character trait consistently linked to happiness and well-being.

Thank you for being part of the Gold Arrow Camp community this year! In this week’s episode, Sunshine wraps up the 2025 GAC Podcast season and gives an overview of what we covered in this season’s interviews.

In this episode of the podcast, Brian “Sneaks” Adler talks about growing up at GAC as a camper and counselor. Sneaks talks about how his time at camp helped him figure out who he was, gain his confidence, learn how to be emotionally vulnerable and authentic, develop his leadership skill, and figure out how to thrive as a human. His summers at camp helped Sneaks figure out what he liked and what gave him purpose and fulfillment. Now he loves helping his campers and Junior Counselors grow in the same ways he’s grown at camp.