We are so pleased to welcome Maria to CNIB Lake Joe as our new Program Manager.
Maria has worn a lot of different hats in her career, starting life in a small town in southwestern Ontario on a dairy farm. As a little girl she fantasized about becoming a hairdresser since she was so darn good at French-braiding her sister’s hair, but her first real job (not milking cows) was as a lifeguard at the local pool.
She completed her first university degree in health sciences with a minor in French as a second language, with the hopes of going to teachers’ college, but later decided that she “didn’t want to be limited to a classroom and wanted to teach more than how to add and subtract, and really wanted to teach life skills.” After having an adventure travelling and studying Mandarin in China and a couple of camp contracts in British Columbia, she returned to university to complete a nursing degree.
Though Maria had never gone to camp as a kid, she started working in camps in her late teens. “Camp was always a place of growth for me,” she explains. “There are always places for you to go, learn, and see yourself in the future. I wanted to make camp a more accessible place for people so that no matter what, someone could always participate.”
She started her camp career at a camp that focused on children living with cancer and their families and she fell in love with it. She continued to work at camps across Canada that focused on people with chronic conditions and disabilities, making this summer her tenth summer at camp!
When asked why she wanted to join the CNIB Lake Joe team, Maria simply stated that camp is for fun and growth and has always made her happy. “I don’t want to work at a ‘typical’ summer camp,” she explains. “I want to work at camp year-round, and I want to make camp accessible.”
Right now Maria’s busy recruiting the staff team for the 2023 season and planning the exciting programs and partnerships that will delight guests. In her free time she enjoys hiking, canoeing, camping and travelling. She is also currently a proud foster parent of a rescue cat named Gus.