Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the Mo-Ranch staff, Rachael Schleich.
Schleich is the assistant director of camps, teaming up Richard Bombach, director of camps, and the rest of the summer camp staff.
She is passionate about summer camp because she believes it is a place where kids can realize their full potential.
“I just love seeing the look on a camper’s face when they’re able to achieve something new, exclaiming “I did it!” while surrounded by their cabin cheering them on,” she said.
Summer camp also teaches kids important life lessons like persistence and integrity, she said.
“I believe that camp provides a place for kids to try something new, and whether they succeed or need to try again, they will learn something from it,” she said. “It’s where campers can explore and see their own potential. It’s where kids are a part of a community that is loving, accepting, and safe. Kids need a place to feel wanted, to feel like it’s ok to fail, to learn about themselves, and that’s all at camp.”
Schleich is not new to the summer camp scene — her history with summer camp goes back to her freshman year of college, where she was the activities specialist at Camp Highlander in North Carolina.
She said she was hooked after her first year, so she returned to camp every summer for the next four years, eventually joining the leadership team and becoming the evening program head.
“Camp is a unique environment that fosters community, confidence, and character development that can’t be replicated anywhere else,” Schleich said. “Kids are encouraged to challenge themselves and explore in ways that they normally cannot, and when this is paired with the safety and support of an incredible staff, they’re able to grow into the person they’re meant to be.”
After her last summer at Camp Highlander, she said she knew she wanted to turn her passion for camps into a full-time job. Her first year-round camp position was as the activities director at Camp Balcones Springs in Marble Falls. That is where she first met Bombach, and Austin Grammer, Mo’s former assistant director of camps.
This will be her eighth year working in summer camps, and she is ready to get started.
“I am most excited for staff training and the first day of camp. I am very eager to meet our staff in person and start building that community,” she said. “Also, I can’t wait to see all of the smiles on our camper’s faces when they arrive for their first day of camp.”
