Judith Moore’s (center front row) stay at Maqua was only two years—1970 and 1971, as an assistant director to Barb Haggart, “catching, fielding, and doing whatever had to be done for Beanie.” She had played sports at Western Michigan University with Sue Wiegand, Nancy Sautter, and Barb and was recruited from the physical education pool. That first summer was a summer she knew she didn’t have to make much money, since she had just been hired on as a physical education teacher in Sarnia, Ontario for a real job in the fall.
“My experience is short, relative to others, just two years and they were the years immediately upon my undergraduate attainment from WMU. I had a teaching job in the upcoming fall, so was talked into going to camp, with no prior experience as a camper or counselor. But, the PE degree would help. It was an amazing experience for me personally as I grew tremendously as a person. So, camp for me was about friendships and personal growth.”
“At camp I honed my leadership and organizational skills, learned to assume responsibility, learned to work with young campers and all their needs for being away from home. I learned that risk management skills were essential to all and came to understand the HUGE responsibility that had been entrusted to the leadership for about 100 campers and 30 counselors. (A very scary thought as I look back.)”
“Facilitating the counselors and their roles, planning and coordinating programs, and finding new enthusiasm after a long hot day for all was essential. Camp management was very integrated and required daily management skills that I was learning on the fly. Really, there was no support system to assist those of us who led—none! We were young 20-25-year-olds making it happen. Just the quality of the people that were there, despite no directives from the “Y”, made me realize there were enough traditions and foundations to build upon.”
“I have one daughter that went to camp for about 6-8 years as a camper and later as a counselor. She still laughs and talks about it. It is a special time for the young campers for sure. I am bound that I will pay for the camping experience for any grandchildren that I may have, it is that important to me.”
“There is another part of this experience that was valuable. As a young woman graduate, the opportunities for me were not the same as young men at that time. This was pre Title Nine. All the counselors had on the job training for leadership as a result of Maqua. I am only guessing but would think that they are or have been leaders in their lives. They gained confidence, honed management, and organizational skills, learned empath, developed a work ethic and actually felt responsibility. These are very important skills in life. Mentoring was alive!”
Judy found her niche in athletics as the Director of Physical Education for the University of Waterloo and through her sports, brought her field hockey teams to six different Olympics. She coached field hockey, continuing the leadership role as a mentor in sports, as well as commentating for the broadcasts.
Maqua remained a cornerstone for her growth. “What a playground it was for me to practice my leadership skills. I attribute my introduction to my career to the leadership and savvy experiences I gained at Maqua,” said Judy. “It turned out being at camp was everything it could be for me. It was rich, meaningful fun. It was a rich group of like-minded people feeding each other and it was very empowering.”
