Hello, I am Ross from Yorkshire in the UK. I am a scientist, and a juggler, and a fire performer, and a whip cracker, and a teacher, and a cook, and an archer, and a magician. I am a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle, and a friend. I am methodical, diligent, and loyal.
I think that if there is a purpose in life it is to have as much fun and joy and learning as possible. For yourself and, more importantly, to spread as much of it around to others as possible. My friends and family and community are so important to me and I think that individual success is inextricably linked to the success of the group to which that individual belongs.
I have been blessed in life to have had lots of opportunities to learn knowledge and skills and I find the most rewarding thing that I have ever done, or possibly will ever do, is to share this with other people. I have learnt from inspiring lecturers, incredible performers, patient tutors, wise teachers and long experience and I hope to pass on as much of that as I can. There is nothing so rewarding as seeing a person’s face light up when they realise something special about the world or learn how to do something they could not do before. There is no amount of money in the world that can buy that experience.
I am 31 years of age and I have worked as a physics teacher for over two years and a camp counselor for a year elsewhere and a year here at Augusta back in 2014. Previously I specialised in archery, but coming to Camp Augusta has given me a chance to teach many more things. In the wider world I work as a private tutor for teenagers in the run-up to their exams; I do science themed parties for children’s birthdays; and, I am a circus performer and circus teacher. As a circus performer, I have performed tiny cabaret venues with a small group, and as part of a music and lightshow ensemble in front of over ten thousand people. At university, I studied astrophysics and I found it most exhilarating because it was a great way to study how the world works. I have worked for the last few years with a community project in my home city that provides a big-top to large events and festivals. We provide crafts and games and performances that are aimed at children. I am still a volunteer with the project, and acted as a co-director for a year.
Over the next few years I hope to travel more and grow into my new role of self-employment and hopefully continue to keep it stable and sustainable. I am fortunate enough that one of my main hobbies, circus performance, is also one of my jobs. I also enjoy movies and music. And I love to read books. Since my last time at camp I’ve also re-discovered a long-dormant passion for playing board-games. I played a lot as a child and I have rediscovered it as an adult through meeting like-minded people in my circus skills communities.
I want to work at camp because it is a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and learn something new, as well as to travel, and to fulfill my most important need, the need to share and to teach. I hope that the campers that I work with over the summer will learn something new from me (whether it’s archery or juggling or that it’s sometimes OK to act wacky or to sing really loudly even if you aren’t very good). I hope I will be able to provide them with a positive role-model. And I hope I will be able to be part of the team that makes their summer fun and effective. I look forward to working with children because they are always able to surprise me, either with a great answer, or an insightful question, or with an act of compassion or maturity that I did not expect. This year I’ll be acting as one of the Masters of Fun and Games. My role will be to facilitate camp-wide games and all manner of fun. It’s an excellent way to engage one of my more recently re-discovered passions; playing games!
So that’s me; I’m Ross and I can’t wait to meet everyone soon! When you see me, ask me which set of Munchkin is the best…