The current A&M Fish Camp co-chairs have sampled the second largest counselor application pool in history with 2,336 applications to choose from to lead their camps.
Each application is read and every applicant gets an interview and is chosen over a three-week period by the chairs. Co-chairs met their selected counselors for the summer at reveal night three weeks ago, and they will work with the counselors over the course of the next few months to prepare to introduce the Class of 2021 to A&M’s culture.
Jasmine Bertram, industrial engineering junior and co-chair for Session E Camp Gartner, said she believes the counselor selection process for the counselors was made easier by having a co-chair paired with her who shared the same values.
“We are two completely different people, we have two different camp histories and experiences so I think a lot of it is going from those experiences and figuring out what we value the most and what we will value the most in our camps,” Bertram said. “It’s easy to work with someone who wants the same things. So when we were picking counselors it wasn’t really a dispute. It’s always like we want counselors who embody this, this and this, and so that’s who we are going to choose and it works out because we want the same things.”
Fish Camp takes place during the summer, but aims for freshmen to have a positive experience in their first year of college and beyond. Kenny Dao, marketing junior, is a co-chair for Session B Camp Bullock and said a common bond of servitude for the freshmen is the best way to give back to Texas A&M.
“When you’re in these kinds of organizations in that leadership role you have to be comfortable with the people around you, you have to be very servant-hearted, you have to understand the role as a counselor and that’s what I expect out of all my counselors — that they understand why they are doing this,” Dao said. “It’s more than just for the piercings and dyeing your hair. It’s about the freshmen and A&M and to me this is the best way we could give back to A&M.”
This year Fish Camp consists of 1,258 members made up of directors, co-chairs and counselors for 48 camps in seven sessions. Angie Cortez, communication junior, is the co-chair for Session F Camp Buckalew. She said there is a uniqueness to each camp and a definite role change from counselor to chair.
“Each camp has its own feel to it and its own story, and because its 24 people from all kinds of different backgrounds each camp will have a different vibe to it,” Cortez said. “As a counselor you are responsible for your DG and your eight to 13 freshmen that you get, and you’re responsible of taking care of them through their freshmen year, and now [as a co-chair] you’re responsible for 24 people making sure that we take care of these responsibilities we’ve always had as a camp, which is upholding our namesake’s name to a good light and making sure we are getting our mission across as Fish Camp.”
Fish Camp sessions take place from July 29 to August 19 and registration opens up May 22.
“You see your counselor’s name and apps and what they have to say about fish camp and you fall in love with the things that they say,” Cortez said. “Then you get to see them in front of you and interact with each other, and I know it’s going to grow, and it’s going to be a whole different story by the end of this.”