A d v e n t u r e E v e r y D a y
M E E T T H E C A M P D I R E C T O R
In This Section:
Howdy! My name is Joe Murphy and I am the Camp Director at Camp Y-Owasco. My campname is Random. I also supervise the Y-Pals and Leaders Club programs at the Auburn YMCA in the “off-season.” New to New York in 2009, I am initially from Fenton, Missouri—a suburb of St. Louis. I never went to a YMCA summer camp when I was a kid, but looking back I sure wish I had! I was in Boy Scouts, though, and I went to summer camp in some capacity—either traditional summer camp or high adventure trips—for 8 years, and I eventually earned my Eagle Scout. In high school, I decided I wanted to be a high school drama teacher, and I went on to attend Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in theatre with Missouri teacher certification in secondary speech and theatre education. Meanwhile, after my junior year of college, I got what I thought would be a 1 or 2 summer job as a Cabin Counselor at YMCA Camp Lakewood at the YMCA of the Ozarks in Potosi, Missouri. Well, about halfway through my first summer there, I realized that there was no place in the world that I’d rather be than summer camp. I continued working at Camp Lakewood for 8 seasons over 5 years serving as a Cabin Counselor, facilitating teambuilding and leading canoe trips for teens as a Leadership Development Counselor, and teaching kids about nature and teamwork as a Professional Outdoor Educator. Then, finally, I got a job teaching speech, drama, and debate in a small town in the south-central Missouri Ozarks called Houston. Finally! I had achieved my long-time goal of being a high school drama teacher! The only problem was that the primary thing I thought about and the only thing I wished for was summer camp! So I returned to YMCA Camp Lakewood for 2 more seasons, serving as Counselor-In-Training Director and Assistant Program Director of Outdoor Education, until in 2009 I found the Camp Director job at Y-Owasco. While it’s a bit colder and a lot snowier in central New York than Missouri, and I sometimes forget that it costs money to drive on the highway up here, I’m very happy to be in Auburn and I’m THRILLED to be at Camp Y-Owasco!
On a more personal note, I enjoy hiking, canoeing, theatre, running, writing, and generally being outside. I suppose I should mention that I also thoroughly enjoy SUMMER CAMP, as camp of some sort has been a part of my summers for over half my life. On that note, I look forward to meeting all of you at Camp Y-Owasco and sharing an amazing adventure with everyone here!
Auburn YMCA-WEIU
