Spotlight on Staff: Allexie

Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Book: Hunger Games Series (at the moment!)
Nickname: “Lexie”

Hey everyone! My name is Allexie (but everyone at camp calls me Lexie!) and I am from Marlboro, New Jersey. I am 18 years old and currently live in New Brunswick, NJ because I am a freshman at Rutgers University.  I am a Journalism and Media Studies major. I have two older sisters, both of whom went to Timber Lake West, so camp is always a topic of conversation!

During my oldest sister’s first summer at West, I was only two years old! This will be my ninth summer at camp – my second as a general counselor. I skipped one summer of camp to travel around Israel for a month and despite the incredible experiences it gave me, I could not wait to get back to the place that had been my summer home for so many years!

I give Timber Lake West most of the credit for making me the person I am today. West has provided me with the abilities to be more outgoing, responsible, and able to maintain close relationships with friends, regardless of the distance. I don’t know how easily I would have adjusted to college without my prior TLW experience. I don’t think I can name one thing about camp that I am not absolutely obsessed with! At Timber Lake West, there is something for everyone – I am extremely un-athletic, but I always had an amazing time playing sports at camp and it just gave me more motivation to try harder and learn new skills. It is a place that everyone is accepted and embraced.  TLW has given me confidence to be who I am and it is still the place where I know I can always fully express myself.

One of my most treasured camp memories would be one of the last full days of my Teen Two summer as a camper. It was a day that we got to choose any activity that we wanted to do and my division wanted to watch a movie. It was a beautiful day and some of my best friends and I wanted to spend it outside. My group leader decided to take us on a hike and the small group of us hiked up to the upper camp sight. On the way up we talked and laughed and told stories. It was one of the greatest times I had, just because of the people I was with. When we got to the top we looked out on one of the most incredible views. I would never have wanted to spend that day any differently!

My advice for anyone thinking about going to camp for the first time is to simply just do it! Timber Lake West is by far my favorite place in the world and I wouldn’t change my time that I spend there for anything in the world! Four weeks may seem like a long time but once you get there, you will never want to leave. Everyone gets nervous before camp, even I still get butterflies before leaving for my summer experience each year, but once I get there and see the familiar smiling faces, I am at ease and I know that I am once again home!