Staff Spotlight - Noah Simon

Noah Simon joins the NSC Staff. The former camper is a native of Chicago, IL. There he goes to school at Walter Payton College Prep. He just finished my JV baseball season. In his free time he likes to play some pick up basketball with friends at a park right by his school. At camp you'll find Noah instructing softball, as well as riflery and sailing.

More about Noah:

If you could be any animal (besides a human), what would you be and why?

- I would be a hippogriff because then I could be a huge powerful animal with an added bonus of flying. Also, I might get to meet Harry Potter

What is your favorite cartoon Character:

- Sokka from Avatar the last airbender because he’s got a good sense of humor and can still hold his own without any bending abilities

Where is your favorite spot at camp:

- One of the arm chairs on top of Tom’s Terrace. It has a great view of the lake and I always feel very relaxed when sitting in one.

What is your dream Job:

- Any job in the Wonka factory

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- The ability to make any food taste like what I want it to taste.

What is the best Christmas/Hanukkah present that you've ever gotten:

- Iphone in 5th grade

What is your preferred chicken nugget dip:

- Ketchup plain and simple

What are your top three movies of all time:

- Forest Gump, Avatar (the blue guys not the air bending one. the air bending one was an insult to the tv show) and Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr.

What's your go-to pie at the Norske Nook?

- Butterfinger, no questions asked.

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

- I play on my school 16” softball team with Asher borestien and we are the reigning city champions

Share one notable camp memory:

- On my first canoeing trip my J2 year, the counselors told us that a bad storm might hit our campsite that night and if it did we might have to evacuate. They then woke us up in the middle of the night saying we had to leave right now. We ran over terrified to the vans where they revealed it was all an elaborate pizza party.

Staff Spotlight - Jonah Goldfine

I’m Jonah Goldfine and I am from Scottsdale, AZ.  I have just finished my Sophomore year at Desert Mountain High School .  This will be my first year on staff, but my eighth year at camp.  I enjoy most sciences, especially Chemistry, and math.  I am currently a brown belt at Rising Sun Karate and I hope to receive my black belt by the time I graduate.

More about Jonah

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

- Dog because, while dogs can easily defend themselves, they live a pretty easy life.

What is your favorite cartoon Character:

- Spongebob       

Where is your favorite spot at camp:

- Council Ring at Sunset or a clear night

What is your dream Job:

- Research Scientist

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- The powers of the Scarlet witch

What is the best Christmas/Hanukkah present that you've ever gotten:

- My computer because of how much use I get out of it

What is your preferred chicken nugget dip:

- Ketchup or BBQ Sauce

What are your top three movies of all time:

- Star Wars (Not prequels), Ferris Bueller’s Day off, and Now You See Me

What's your go-to pie at the Norske Nook?

 - Blueberry crumble

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

 - I am absolutely obsessed with Star Wars and have watched every movie atlas 5 times for the original and new trilogy and 3 times for the prequels.

Share one notable camp memory:

- One morning of the Canadian, my cabin and I woke up for a sunrise paddle.  On that morning the sun looked like a giant red bouncy ball.  It was awesome.

Staff Spotlight - Spencer Malkin

My name is Spencer Malkin and I am from Buffalo Grove, IL. I am going to be starting my senior year at Stevenson High School. I am very involved with Stevenson’s Student Council and Best Buddies programs and I am the Vice President of the Chicago region in BBYO. I am returning to North Star for my 8th summer at camp. I look forward to teaching waterskiing, archery, and land sports.

More about Spencer

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

- I would be a dolphin because they are awesome swimmers and just really fun.

What is your favorite cartoon Character:

- Spongebob Squarepants

Where is your favorite spot at camp:

- Swing at the Fun Bug area

What is your dream Job:

- Owner of a sports team

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- The ability to read minds

What is the best Christmas/Hanukkah present that you've ever gotten:

- Jonathan Toews Jersey

What is your preferred chicken nugget dip:

- Honey Mustard

What are your top three movies of all time:

- The Lego Movie, The Sandlot, Forrest Gump

What's your go-to pie at the Norske Nook?

- Strawberry sour cream

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

- My sisters used to dress me up as princesses as a kid.

Share one notable camp memory:

- Hanging out with my cabin on our last day as campers.

Staff Spotlight - Arie Litherland

Arie Litherland makes the voyage all the way from Auckland, New Zealand to spend his summer at North Star. Arie works at the Auckland International Airport as an airport operations officer. He's also a volunteer fire fighter and first responded. he's been involved with scouting since he was 11 and now in an activity leader for the scouts. Arie helps plan trips and other fun activities in this role. You'll find Arie on the climbing wall this summer at North Star.

More about Arie

How did you learn about North Star and why did you apply?
- Camp America advertises in NZ and Australia and I thought combining my passion for scouting and to travel at the same time would be great. I love working with kids.

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? I'm a 

- Kiwi by birth, but would love to be a Kea.
 

What is your favourite cartoon Character:

- Batman

What is your dream Job:

- Fire Fighter

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- Invincibility

What noteworthy/random/menial jobs have you held? 

- I worked part time for 18 months in a dive centre and dog walking on the tropical island of Rarotonga in 2009/10

What are your top three movies of all time:

- Deadpool, The Dark Knight and The Harry Potter Movies

What did you do last summer?

- Worked at The Auckland International Airport as  Landside Operations Officer.

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

- Spent 3 months in Starship Childrens Hospital.

What, if any previous camp/outdoor experiences have you had?

- I have been involved with Titirangi Air Scouts for about 9 years firstly as a scout  and am now currently waiting for my Scout Leader Warrant.

Staff Spotlight - Louis Nutley

Louis Nutley comes to camp from West Sussex in the UK for his first summer. He's been volunteering for the past two years with Worthing Boys Club. He helps plan special activities and trips for the group. As a kid in the youth group himself he learned riflery, which he now teaches to the kids. He's hoping to make working with kids part of his career. At camp Louis will be instructing riflery and archery.

More about Louis

How did you learn about North Star and why did you apply?

- North Star found my through an agency and as soon as the contacted me I knew is the camp for me

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

- I would be an Eagle because I could fly to where ever I want!

What is your favorite cartoon Character:

- Inspector gadget

What is your dream Job:

- Running my own youth club

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- It would be able to heal people and myself, so when I bump my little toe on the side of the bed i can just make the pain go away

What noteworthy/random/menial jobs have you held?

- I worked in McDonald's cooking chicken nuggets all day

What are your top three movies of all time:

- Step Brothers, Bruce Almighty, & Batman Begins

What did you do last summer?

- Unfortunately I was working most of last summer in a supermarket  but I did go to Sicily for a holiday and I walk all over the mountains and forests they had there

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

- I like to sing in the shower when no one is about

What, if any previous camp/outdoor experiences have you had?

- I love hiking I always have since I can remember, the longest hike I have done is 50 miles over the south coast of England I had to camp over night in a field with loads of sheep it was one of the best experiences in my life

Staff Spotlight - Ty Bleeker

Ty Bleeker joins the NSC staff for his first summer. A native of Zeeland, MI, Ty went to Calvin College before going to the University of Idaho for his masters degree in Environmental Education. He really developed a passion for the outdoors during his freshman year of college. After finishing up at University of Idaho, Ty traveled extensively in throughout the US, Canada and Australia. He joins our great crew of trip leaders.

More about Ty

How did you learn about North Star and why did you apply?

- I heard about North Star from a job search email. I applied because I really enjoy living and working in a camp setting and was super stoked to lead outdoor trips for campers all summer.

If you could be any animal (besides a human), what would you be and why?

- My spirit animal has always been a moose because they are big animals who just hang out in the woods all day. So I’d chose to be a moose and literally live up to my college nickname.

What is your favorite cartoon Character:

- I would probably say Doug Funny from the cartoon Doug, because I watched that cartoon a lot growing up.

What is your dream Job:

- I would absolutely love to be an interpretive ranger for the National Park Service.

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- I’d like to be able to shrink to be really small, so that I’d be able to fit into small spaces and see the world from an ant’s perspective.

What noteworthy/random/menial jobs have you held?

- I picked fruit (cherries and lychees) in Australia for two months. I also had a job collecting scientific data on the height of grass in a prairie—that was a lot of squatting down and measuring grass!

What are your top three movies of all time:

- Into the Wild, 127 Hours, & Alive

What did you do last summer?

- Last summer I took a five-month long road trip in the West after graduating college: 16 states, 2 Canadian provinces, 14+ national parks and 19,000 miles.

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

- I have an extensive collection of rocks, shells, and plants that I’ve been collecting from my travels around the country (and world).

What, if any previous camp/outdoor experiences have you had?

- I’ve had a wide range of outdoor and wilderness trip experiences including hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and bike-camping. My trips have been just about everywhere in the States, from the deserts of Utah to the mountains of Appalachia. I’ve even done a bit of bushwalking in Australia!

Staff Spotlight - Lauren Ambrosius

Lauren Ambrosius joins the North Star staff for her first summer. She was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin and attended UW-Eau Claire for 3.5 years. Lauren had the opportunity to participate in an exchange program and spent her remaining time at the University of Idaho. After just graduating a few weeks ago, Lauren comes to camp as one a camp nanny. She'll also be an activity instructor, teaching golf and horseback riding, among other activities.

More about Lauren

How did you learn about North Star and why did you apply?

- I learned about North Star from a brochure/advertisement I saw at U of Idaho's Outdoor Program office. They had an array of brochures there with outdoor job opportunities on their bulletin board. I thought it sounded fun so I applied!

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

- I would be a cat because they have such a simple, carefree life. They get to lay around, eat, and sleep all day.

What is your dream Job:

- My dream job would definitely be something with animals; especially horses. I would love to teach others how to ride. I would also love to do something that involves traveling; like a travel agent or something.

If you had a super hero power, what would it be:

- If I had a superpower, I would choose to fly. It would be awesome to see everything from a bird's eye view and it would get me places a lot quicker.

What noteworthy/random/menial jobs have you held?

- The most noteworthy job I have held thus far would probably be my job working at a halfway house/drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. I met a lot of different people from very different backgrounds. I also heard some pretty crazy stories, too.

What are your top three movies of all time:

1. Dirty Dancing

2. Forrest Gump

3. Bridesmaids

What did you do last summer?

- Last summer, I worked at a halfway house/drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Eau Claire as a Support Professional. Basically, clients would come to me if they ever needed any assistance. I would also make sure things were always running smoothly in the house and nobody was getting into trouble.

What is a little Known fact about yourself:

- I love animals more than the normal human does.

What, if any previous camp/outdoor experiences have you had?

- Growing up, my parents always took us camping around Wisconsin. We started in tents and eventually moved up to a camper. We also went on many family trips to places like Tennessee and Florida. I would say I had most of my camp/outdoor experience when I went to Idaho. Over spring break, I traveled to Seattle, Yellowstone National Park, and Glacier National Park. We also went on many camping trips, hikes, and ski/snowboarding trips with the Outdoor Program.