Written by: Olivia Anderson

My name is Olivia Anderson and I am from Fairfield, CT. This summer I had an intern with Westport Parks & Recreation located in Westport, CT, as the Sports Director at Camp Compo, which is located at Compo Beach.  I began this internship in June and worked through August, alongside the program manager, Cyndi Palaia.

During my time in the office, I created manuals, flyers, scheduled field trips, and placed equipment, supply, and uniform orders for summer programming. My task was to get everything ready for the summer camps and only had about one month to make sure everything was ready to go. I called multiple places where we would go on field trips and confirmed dates and details with them. Additionally, I had to schedule buses, create theme and special event days, and organize the contact information for employees. During camp, we would go on field trips around Connecticut and also had on-site events such as hosting a pizza truck, waterslide, carnival day, a magician and a comedy show. Throughout the summer, I learned that it is difficult to work alongside those who are very different from you; however, the main focus is to appreciate what is valued most about the job, and for me that was making sure the kids had fun.  I was motivated to make sure we would have a successful summer. 

I am very fortunate to be able to work for Westport Recreation part-time this fall to begin to learn more about program management within recreation. Although I am not positive if I will take on a future within recreation, I have learned that I love working with youth sport and hope to find something within the sport industry; however, I will not limit my options. I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue to work for Westport Recreation, as it will give me more experience working in and outside of the office, and I will learn a multitude of skills that will further enhance my resume for my future endeavors.