BOLD GOLD Internship
An Outdoor Leadership Development Program
YMCA of the North’s BOLD GOLD program offers a paid internship program at our Camp Widjiwagan, Camp Menogyn, and Camp St. Croix locations, for young people ages 16-18-year-old. The Internship Program allows young leaders to develop their wilderness, leadership, interpersonal, and intercultural skills, by participating in a paid training program, followed by co-leading trips alongside camp staff.
What to Expect
Interns will participate in an initial training session to receive group management, experiential education, youth development and wilderness skills instruction. Following their training trip, Interns will co-guide a trip(s) alongside a Widjiwagan/Menogyn/Croix staff member. These co-lead trips will be geared towards the younger campers, and are often introductory experiences. Interns will have a chance to get to know and build friendships with other members of their cohort, and will also receive a $200 gear stipend from REI as a part of the experience.
While the internship is an incredible opportunity for leadership development and experience within our camp settings, we find that all our interns take what they learned in this program back to school and community settings, where they are (or become) leaders in other capacities.
“I was pretty nervous about doing the internship, because I’d never been away from home for that long and I knew it was going to be a very challenging experience, but it ended up being one of the most important times of my life. Yes, it was hard, but I learned so much about myself and the people and world around me, and I found an incredibly fun and accepting community. It’s a challenge, but it’s worth it.” - BOLD & GOLD Intern
Application Process 2024
Individuals interested in applying for this internship position will first need to complete a written, online application, which can be found here beginning December 15th, 2023. This written application will be open from December 15th-January 15th, 2024. We will not accept any applications past the January 15th Deadline.
Applications for 2024 are now closed.
The second step after the written application, is a Zoom interview with the BOLD GOLD program director, and the Summer Program Director at either Widjiwagan, Menogyn or St. Croix. These interviews will be coordinated for late January and early February, with internship decisions by the end of February at the latest.
Applicants may apply to more than one site, and preference is given to applicants who can commit to the whole internship time block. While there isn’t an experience requirement, our most successful interns have shown enthusiasm for developing leadership skills, youth development work, and a passion for the outdoors.
Dates + Spaces
Menogyn (6 intern spaces): 7/24-7/28 (intern training) + three 5-day trips (7/31-8/4, 8/7-8/11, and 8/14-8/18) or one 5 day, and a 12-day trip (8/7-8/18). Interns are guaranteed either three 5-day trips, or a 5-day and a 12-day trip on top of the training. *
Widjiwagan (6 intern spaces): 7/15-7/26 (intern training) + two pathfinders trips (7/29 -8/2 and 8/5 - 8/9) or an Introductory BWCA Trip (7/29 - 8/9). Interns are guaranteed at least two pathfinders trips on top of the training*
St. Croix (4 intern spaces): 7/7-7/26.
*For Menogyn and Widjiwagan, all interns will complete the intern training. From there, staff members will work with the interns and Camp Leadership to identify what is the best trip fit for the interns, whether it be multiple shorter experiences, or a longer experience. We aspire to build a progression within this program, and oftentimes the longer trip experiences may go to interns who have completed the program before. We feel that there are valuable learning opportunities to guiding shorter and longer experiences, and one is not “lesser” than the other.
Apply
Check back here from 12/15/23-1/15/24 for the written application.