Monitoria

I started at the English Camp 4 years ago and it’s been a great experience. Every time that I go there I learn something about myself and about people. It’s a place where I can take a break from reality, practice my English, grow personally and professionally.

Well, my name is Jonathan, but people at English Camp call me John, I'm 24 years old and I have been a camp counselor at EC since 2009! I have had GREAT experiences at EC and I can definitely say that being a camp counselor at English Camp has changed my life in several aspects. At the camp I was able to become a better leader, manager and person. Through all these years I had opportunities to coordinate several summer and winter seasons and weekend camps. And those events made me grow as a professional due to everything that it takes for them to happen. If you're considering applying for a counseling position at EC, just do it! I'm sure you'll experience the best and funniest moments of all your life.

O Camp pra mim, é o lugar pra ficar perto das coisas que eu mais gosto na vida. Natureza, pessoas, animais, boa comida, linda paisagem, e especialmente o Fred ( o cão - lorde bilíngue que nos acompanha nas caminhadas ) que é sempre amigo e receptivo, que conquista até os que não gostam de cães! Além disso tudo, aprendo com meus colegas, clientes e a Sandra. O ambiente é propício para o aprendizado, por estarmos sempre fazendo o melhor para que cada um evolua mais, dividindo nossos conhecimentos e experiências; pois por mais conhecimento que se tenha, sempre se pode aprender mais. Ser monitor no Camp é fascinante! Eu sinto que eu posso ajudar as pessoas a chegarem mais perto dos seus objetivos e isso é incrível. Poder acompanhar e ver o desenvolver dos alunos, é como ver o filho dar os primeiros passos por si mesmo. Isso me enche de orgulho e satisfação! Sou eternamente grato ao camp, pois eu não seria o profissional que sou hoje, sem ele. Aprendi muito! Como pessoa e como professor. Sinceramente, Johnny

O English Camp chegou a mim de uma forma curiosa. Em 2014, voltei do intercâmbio de um ano nos Estados Unidos e assim que soube da oportunidade de ir para um lugar em que eu pudesse me divertir, continuar falando inglês e “fingir” que eu não estava de volta ao Brasil, topei na hora. Depois de tanto tempo longe de casa, fiquei duas semanas em São Paulo e fui para o English Camp, onde fiquei por um mês como monitora. A experiência foi maravilhosa. Conheci diversas pessoas de São Paulo, Itapetininga e do Brasil inteiro, entre campers, clients e leaders. Pude praticar o meu inglês, desenvolver habilidades de liderança, que nem sabia que existiam, assim como, aumentar o meu networking. Desde então, há três anos, sempre que consigo uma brecha na faculdade e no trabalho, busco escapar para Itapetininga, lugar que realmente considero como o meu refúgio, uma forma de fugir da cidade, do stress e da rotina. Além disso, é uma forma de pelo menos por um pouco, eu me imaginar na experiência do intercâmbio. Costumo dizer que o Kids Camp e a Immersion são dois tipos completamente díspares de acampamento, não só para os clientes como também para os leaders. O primeiro é puxado, um trabalho de praticamente 24h, mas que vale a pena, principalmente pela amizade que você cria com as crianças. É algo que cansa fisicamente, mas que tira todo o stress da sua mente. Por outro lado, a immersion, é algo mais tranquilo no que diz respeito ao físico, formado por projects e apresentações e, assim como o kids, muuuita comida (são cinco refeições ao dia). Porém, é um estilo mais focado no aluno e mais cansativo mentalmente. Ao mesmo tempo, é uma ótima oportunidade para aprofundar o inglês especializado e ‘business’, aprender sobre temas diversos com mais vocabulário e expandir o networking.

I believe Shakespeare once said that: “people and places will enter your life without you even notice and will mark your life forever”. Precisely ten years ago a Sunday newspaper’s ad led me to English Camp. It happened during one of my primary school summer vacations, where my dad, tired of seeing me watch TV all day, signed me up for a ten day summer camp at EC. After refuting the idea in the beginning, I was rapidly “persuaded” by my father, and next thing I know I was packing my bags. Honestly, I have to admit that on my way to the departing place I couldn’t wait to see that endeavor over and get back to my cartoons and video game at home. As most of the deep reflections an eleventh year-old kid can have, turns out that I was completely wrong. I became fascinated with the camping site, the instructor, the friends I made, but mostly the cooperative environment between everybody; it was a big family. A family where I had my first contact with teamwork, respect for others, discipline and leadership, not to mention that on top all this I got to improve my English. I ended up going to the departure place at least three more times over junior high. During my high school period at Bandeirantes and my college at ITA (Instituto Tecnológico da Aeronautica), because of time constraints, I took a little break form going to camp, but didn’t take break from the learning I had there, which actually where key to overcome those two competitive environments. I’ve got back in touch with EC after having worked one and half year at Johnson & Johnson headquarters in New Jersey. As I looked for opportunities to keep my English level I decided to add the fun factor and became a tutor or so called leader for English Camp. Becoming a leader after being a camper gave me more than I expected, I learned that being a leader in English Camp is more than organizing gymkhanas and making fun of yourself to entertain young kids, it’s about being a role model to those same kids, it’s about being responsable to what their parents value most, it’s about understanding how transparent and honest a child can be, it’s about teaching them a language through errands, it’s about getting out of your daily routine as a banker, consultant or executive and to enjoy the simple things in life, like the sunset, nature, etc. As a leader at English Camp I could do everything I mentioned and looking back that gave me skills I could have never imagined before; being an engineer major and having worked in strategic management consulting and investment banking, I can garantee without too much room for questioning that that experience gave me room to develop creativity, ability to make public speeches, develop my interpersonal skills, practice management principles, all of this the funniest and most pleasant environment possible. Currently I’m pursuing an MBA at Wharton Business School, where we often times receive visits from CEOs and managing director of multinationals around the world and when it comes to topics as Leadership its incredible and rewarding to see that a lot of what they say I can relate to my time as “EC leader and EC camper”. I’ve had the best time ever at English Camp, whether I was a camper running around the site, helping my teams accomplish the gymkhanas, whether I was a leader trying to make kids in my room to work as a team and help each other, or whether I was coordinating entire camps and had to make sure everything was executed well, while all expectations were being exceeded. I would like to dedicate this memo to English Camp staff that I worked with over the years and luckily I’ve became friends with. Those were definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had in my entire life.

Ter sido camper no English Camp, foi uma experiência inesquecível. Além de praticar meu Inglês, fiz amigos e me diverti muito. Como leader, foi maravilhoso voltar ao camp e participar de tudo aquilo intensamente. Agora, como coord, é muito legal poder fazer parte de algo que, com certeza meus campers vão lembrar para sempre.