College-bound Katie Newhall probably could have found a job that paid more than $6.50 an hour. A graduate of Wilde Lake High School, 18-year-old Newhall will be entering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York this fall as a physics major.
But instead of taking a summer job at a store or an office, Newhall is one of 15 Howard County teens who opted to work at the Howard County Arts Council's summer camp, where she helps kids with art projects, play rehearsals and other activities.
"This is a great job," said Newhall, who has been working at the camp for three summers, the first of which she was an unpaid volunteer. Camp counselors 17 and older are eligible to be paid. "I like what I'm doing instead of sitting in an office all day," she said.
In between art periods and rehearsals, Newhall and the volunteers play hide and seek and talk with the kids. When one girl told Newhall she was tall, Newhall explained to the small children around her that she was wearing stilts.
"No, you're not," said several girls dubiously.
"Yes, she is," insisted fellow counselor Rachel Scheinerman. "Without her stilts, she'd be shorter than you guys."
Although Newhall started volunteering at the camp when she had a community service requirement for her high school, she has worked far beyond her school's required number of hours.
"When I started doing it, I didn't do it for the community service hours," Newhall said. "I like the kids, and I like to help out." Like many Maryland schools, Wilde Lake requires all students to complete a set number of volunteer hours in order to graduate. But according to Laura Carter, the director of the summer camp program at the council of the arts, many teens don't need any motivation from their school to get involved with volunteering.
"I'm so happy to be able to have volunteers who want to come in and work," said Carter, whose summer sessions at the Arts Council draw about 300 kids, ages 4 to 13, each summer.
Teens who want to volunteer at the camp are often interested in art and love working with kids. One of the only summer camps in Howard focused entirely on visual and performing arts, the Howard County Arts Council offers kids the chance to paint, sculpt, make instruments, and dance and sing in productions.
"I like to draw, I like music, I like to act -- I like all aspects of art," said volunteer Will Jackson, 14, who often helps 4- to 6-year- olds with art.
Carter said one reason the summer camp might be so popular among students is that she makes sure her volunteers have fun as well as help out.
"I don't think I ever give my volunteers any responsibility that isn't enjoyable," Carter said. "Then, they have a good time, they tell their friends, and before I know it I have a few more people who want to volunteer."
Scheinerman is a perfect example. "I wanted a fun job," said Scheinerman, who started working at the camp this summer after hearing about it from her friend Newhall.
Supraja Murali learned about the job from a booklet on teen volunteer opportunities that her mother got at the Columbia Association.
"I just wanted to do some volunteer work instead of sitting at home doing nothing," said Murali, who applied for the camp job because she likes spending time with kids.
Rebecca Moreland, 16, whose school does not have a community service requirement, said working at the camp is more rewarding than a regular job would be.
"I like to feel that I'm giving the kids positive reinforcement in what they're learning," she said. "I'm having so much fun that I don't even notice that I'm not getting paid. I never think about it."
Carter, who receives more applicants for volunteer positions than she can accept, said she has been surprised by how many teens and their friends are eager to help in their communities.
"Growing up, I don't remember anyone volunteering, or at least anyone spending their whole summer doing it," said Carter, who is an English teacher during the year.
Teens, their parents and adults of all ages are volunteering in greater numbers every year, said Sandy Fairhurst, manager for the Columbia Association's volunteer corps. Fairhurst is responsible for putting together the booklet of volunteer jobs for teens that led Murali to the Arts Council, and many other Columbia teens to their chosen volunteer spots.
"Young people today are more aware of questions like, `How is this going to help me with what I want to do?'" Fairhurst said. "These kids are starting their resumes for life."
