My Favorite Place in the Entire World!

Hello! My name is Donovan but most people at camp know me as Don Don! I am 23 years old and I’m originally from Philadelphia, but currently living in New York City. I come from a really big family with seven siblings so I love to say that I’ve been working with children since I was a child myself!

I learned about THC through a good friend of mine who said that Tyler Hill was the best camp out there! I was interviewed and hired for the Freshmen Division with Gareth Evans as my Division Leader, Michael Davidowitz as my Friendship Coach, and Calvin Simmons as my Group Leader. All three of these men made my first summer one of the best experiences of my life.

I came back the following summer working again with the Freshmen, and my third summer was spent working alongside Geoffrey Hutchinson as co-Group Leaders for Freshmen Boys under the guidance of Henri Johnson and Robyn Kelstein. This was the year we created what we truly believe was the best Freshmen Boy’s Sing song of all time – Freshmenian Rhapsody! (Apparently, the video editing team didn’t think so since we can only be heard for 6 seconds!  From 35-41 if you click on the link…)

This past summer, under the guidance of Dave Welsford and the support of guys like Dom Van Bussel, Jared Kaufman and Vito Massa I was the Group Leader for the Cadet Boys. I learned so much this summer from Welsford and the counselors in my division and I’m excited to take on my new role as Friendship Coach for the Sophomore Boys in 2014!

Tyler Hill is a special place not only for the hundreds of campers that call it home, but for the hundreds of counselors who come from all over the world to experience the magic. Year after year, I come back because I continue to be inspired by the people around me. From Zach Ben Levy teaching a camper how to play the guitar, to Sarah Keelon putting on some of the best theatric shows Tyler Hill has ever seen. From Adam Schaefer and Alex Barone bringing out the best of campers on the courts, to Stephen Antoniadis making it his personal goal to make sure every camper has the best summer ever.

I thank Andy and Wendy for helping to shape what has become my favorite place in the entire world.