The Junior Collaborator ProGram

Sometimes the best person to help a kid is another kid. Campers often open up and connect with someone closer to their own age, allowing junior collaborators to quickly become mentors, role models and so much more.

what is a junior collaborator?

First and foremost, JCs are at camp to develop the skills needed to support the growth, safety, and sense of belonging of our younger campers. Each JC will be paired with an adult collaborator and support a section of the week's project. You may find it helpful to read what it means to be a collaborator on our hiring page. 

At the beginning of your time with us, Junior Collaborators will identify a personal goal to reach while at camp. Some past goals have included:

• leading a section of tool training or a design session

• teaching one of our daily mini-lessons

• improving group vs. one-on-one teaching skills

• leading an all-camp game

Throughout the program, you’ll have group check-ins and one-on-one meetings with the JC coordinator. We work to tailor the program to support your individual goals, but we expect all JCs to be incredible role models who uphold Project Ember’s culture and values.

How is being a JC different than being a camper?

We often begin our time with JCs by discussing the difference between being the most experienced camper, being a junior collaborator, and being a staff collaborator. While we look for candidates with strong design/build experience, the JC program is primarily a youth mentorship program. Applicants should have a strong desire to support younger campers' learning and should be prepared to go their entire time as JCs without physically working on a project themselves. We ask that applicants who are most excited to spend their time improving their design/ build skills consider our high school overnight program.

It's important to note that being a JC is not the universal next step at camp, but rather an alternative learning path. Our JC program focuses on mentorship and educational skills, while our high-school program will continue to grow your technical design/build skillset. Our Uppers camper program and our JC program offer distinct and valuable learning opportunities, and we hope every JC applicant will consider both programs. And being a camper is just super fun!

Apply to Be a Day Camp Junior Collaborator

Teenagers with relevant experience who will begin high school after summer are eligible to apply to our Day Camp JC program. Your role will be to support our Juniors and Middles cohorts (rising 2nd - 8th graders). Application requirements can be found below. 

When: Monday - Friday, 8:45 am - 4:45 pm 
Where: Synapse School, Menlo Park
Cost: Free 
Age Minimum: Entering 9th grade at summer's end
Length of Commitment:
One full session is required for all applicants.
Two-week minimum (one 10-day or 2 5-day camps) highly recommended for first-time applicants.
Experience Required: We look for applicants who meet at least one of the following criteria: 

• Alumni of either Project Ember or related maker/wood-shop/outdoor or survivalist education programs

• Experience in a related activity such as robotics, shop class, theatre tech, school maker-club, etc.

• A demonstrated interest in working with younger kids through activities such as volunteering, tutoring, mentoring, youth groups, etc.  

If you are excited about the JC program but do not have any of the experience listed above, we recommend attending our Overnight Camp for at least one summer before applying. 

Please review our Day Camp schedule to determine the dates you are available. The first week will include training, goal setting, and will provide an opportunity to orient to the schedule and expectations at camp. You will learn on the floor alongside a Lead Collaborator while supporting a group of campers throughout the design-build-test-iterate process. During your second week, our JC coordinator will work with you to reach your camp goal, whether that's to host an all-camp activity, help facilitate a session of tool-training, provide one-on-one assistance for a camper, or something unique to you. 

[no overnight in 2022]
Apply to Be an Overnight Camp Junior Collaborator

When: Sunday arrival, Saturday Departure (see our Overnight Camp Schedule)
Where: Occidental, CA
Cost: Sliding Scale (1- Week, $0 - $1950/2- Weeks, $0-3900). A minimum contribution of $400/week attending is suggested to cover room + board (Sessions 1 and 2 are two weeks long, Session 3 is one week only.)
Age Minimum: 16/Entering 11th grade at summer's end
Experience Preferred:

• Must be alumni of Project Ember Overnight Camp

• Additional experience in a related activity such as robotics, shop class, theatre tech, school maker-club, etc. is a plus! 

• A demonstrated interest in working with younger kids through activities such as volunteering, tutoring, mentoring, youth groups, etc.  

The Overnight JC program runs concurrently with both our Middles (5th - 8th) and Uppers (9th - 12th) programs. JCs work exclusively with our Middles age group, supporting our staff Collaborators and their teams. Almost all our JCs have attended at least two sessions of Project Ember before applying, and the majority of our overnight JCs have continued to enroll as campers as well. (Some have attended as many as seven camper sessions!) 

1. Complete our JC Application ASAP. Applications will close on May 1st, 2022.

2. Submit a teacher or mentor letter of recommendation.

3. Optional: Send us examples of your past projects. We love pictures, stories, or videos of anything you've made that you’re excited to share. Don't worry if it's not tool-based - we're interested in all forms of creativity! (Instructions for submission of material are inside the application.)

4. We’ll schedule a follow-up phone interview after we’ve reviewed your application.

5. Acceptance letters and next steps will be sent out on a rolling basis.