Conor has been a beloved part of our camp family for nine years now and has become an integral part of our team. Starting as a 22-year-old counselor, Conor fell in love with Camp Spring Creek and returned for a second summer in 2016. After a few years of traveling the world, Conor came back to camp in 2022 as a tutor. His experience as a counselor is invaluable and now he leads the counselor team and continues to tutor. While originally from Ireland, Conor is now a citizen of the world and currently resides in Spain.
How did you become interested in tutoring and Orton-Gillingham?
Well, I was obviously aware of it from my time as a counselor, but working at a kindergarten in South Korea I started seeing the issues some students had, it made me want to be better able to serve the kids in my class. Then it all just kind of spiralled from there.
What do you love most about working at camp?
That's easy. The people. Somehow the camp manages to attract great people from all over the world. Even if we get on each other's nerves at times, I'm still in contact with many of the adults and campers I met during my first summer in 2015, almost ten years ago.
What are some of your best memories from camp?
Honestly, it's a lot of the small stuff. The games and the trips are great of course, but seeing the kids (and some of the adults) mature and develop over weeks and years is really rewarding. Sometimes it's academically but just as often it's personally or socially. Those are the kinds of things I feel like you don't get at other camps, at least not to the same degree.
What might campers be surprised to learn about you?
I've lived in 12 countries. (And no, it is not because I'm on the run)
What are you looking forward to the most this summer?
I'm always looking for ways to improve and build on previous iterations of things. I'm looking forward to having so many former counselors returning, and how we can use those skills and experiences.
You worked as a counselor for two summers, and have now been tutoring for two summers. How different is your experience as a tutor vs a counselor?
I was worried being a tutor would mean I wouldn't get to know all the campers in the same way you do as a counselor, but having that 1-1 time everyday with the kids I've tutored has allowed a unique relationship with each of them. You probably have more fun, overall, as a counselor, but I think you make more of a difference as a tutor.
What do you do during the school year?
I live in Spain, I teach English language classes online, so I have students from, literally, all over the world. I'm having fun attempting to retro-fit the skills I'm learning tutoring at camp into language teaching.
Ask me about the time I… came within an hour of making the front page of a national newspaper.
You’ve been teaching English for many years now all over the world. Where has been your favorite place that you’ve lived?
I keep coming back to NC, so read into that what you will. I think Vietnam will always be my favorite, since it was my first 'long term' home outside Ireland, also my first teaching experience, and the culture was so different to anything else I'd experienced up to that point.
What advice would you give a camper or staff member who is coming to camp for the first time?
There's a reason the people who really get involved at camp seem to be the ones having the most fun. You get out of it what you put into it. We're all stuck on the side of a mountain together for 6 weeks, so you might as well sing the songs and play the games. You'll enjoy the summer more if you do.