What We're Looking For

We are looking for these qualities in prospective Counselors:

1. Individuals who are excited about the program and about working with other staff to realize our vision of a grounded staff community.

2. Experience with the High School Gathering, Young Friends, or other religious high school age youth groups

3. Understanding of or familiarity with the concept of listening for the sense of Meeting as a central practice of Friends.

4. Skill in listening and sensitivity to teen participants, oneself and other staff, parents and other Gathering attenders.

5. Commitment to nurturing youth ownership of program guidelines.

6. Community-oriented: knowing the value of the overall Gathering and the High School Gathering's place in it.

7. Willingness to work as a team member with the coordinators and other counselors.

8. Understanding of boundary issues inherent in the role of counselor and ability to maintain appropriate boundaries.

9. Able to arrive by Friday, June 27, 2008 at 9:00 am, for a two-day orientation and team building session.

The High School staff selection process acknowledges that no one person is going to have all the characteristics needed to make the program work, and that counselors often draw upon each other's expertise and experience in dealing with the issues that come up during the week.

Issues we have considered in the past in terms of the team's range and depth were:

• Is there a good balance in the range of Quaker experience among staff members?

• Is there a good balance of male and female counselors?

• Are there gender non-conforming people on the team?

• Is there a range of ages of counselors, from teenage to middle age and above, each age group bringing its own insights? Applicants must have at least one year out of the program before being considered, except those applying for the position of intern.

• Is there diversity in the racial makeup of the counseling team?

• Are there people with lifeguarding/first aid/peer counseling/nursing or other helping/healing skills on the team?

• Are there people with experience leading physical activities for groups of young people? (games/sports/drama/exercise, etc.)

• Is there a good balance in the skills, interests and approaches of the staff members as a whole?