500 Campers Need OWL Camp Counselors to Apply This Summer

Over 500 campers will attend Ohio Wesleyan University’s OWL program this summer according to the university’s recruitment materials, while the program’s official site states that approximately 700 campers representing more than 120 schools throughout Ohio are selected to attend. Either way, the people hired to lead them are the program’s defining feature: OWL Camp Counselors are, in the university’s words, “what set us apart from other camps.” Ohio Wesleyan University reported that applications for those counselor positions are now being accepted online, with applicants able to choose Residential Camp, Day Camp, or both.

Interviews are being held on a rolling basis, and final decisions will be shared by April 1, 2026. Every application received on or before that date will be considered for an interview; anything arriving after the deadline lands on a waitlist and is only reviewed if extra positions open up.

What Applicants Need to Know Before They Click Submit

The application carries a hard warning: once submitted, no information can be changed. OWU advises applicants to be fully prepared before starting, since the form cannot be revisited or edited afterward. For those weighing the job as an alternative to a summer internship, the university notes you can always withdraw an application or decline an offered position later.

A complete application for a new counselor includes a finished application form, a current resume covering experience with teenagers or children plus other work, camp, and leadership history, and any relevant certifications — CPR, Life Saving, and Water Safety Instructor — listed with their expiration dates. Two reference forms must also come from individuals other than family members, completed through a Google form the university provides.

Many counselors each summer are former OWL campers themselves, a pipeline the program actively highlights as part of its identity.

Two Campuses, Two Numbers, One Summer

The two Ohio Wesleyan sources frame the scale of the program differently. The recruitment page describes a staff making “an impact on and difference in the lives of over 500 campers this summer,” while the OWL Camp site at owjl.owu.edu states that approximately 700 campers are selected each year across residential and day sessions. Both figures describe the same program; the difference likely reflects residential versus combined enrollment, but neither source explains the gap directly.

The 2027 schedule shows how that enrollment splits. Residential camp runs three weeks — June 6–10 for students in grades 6–7, June 13–17 for grades 7–8, and June 20–24 for grades 6–7 — with drop-off Sunday and pick-up Thursday. Day camp adds two more weeks, June 28–July 1 and July 5–8, for grades 5–6, running daily until 4:30 p.m. Residential campers live in an air-conditioned dorm on the OWU campus in a family-group arrangement with an adult counselor nearby, and only OWL campers and counselors occupy the building during residential weeks.

OWL serves gifted and talented Ohio students in grades 5–8, who each select four courses from mathematics, logic, computing, science, humanities, and creative development, rounded out by cultural, recreational, and social activities. The program organizes its work around four stated values — Independence, Self-Discovery, Community, and Exploration — and lists goals that include building independence, self-esteem, social connections, and awareness of recreation skills.

Questions about the program can be directed to [email protected].

Keep reading