Hey, Summer Campers!

I bet you can’t wait to have the blast that your summer camp experience is sure to be! You know who else had a blast at summer camp, well-known comedian, Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak. What’s that? You never hear of him? Maybe you know him better simply as B.J. Novak. 

B.J., as you may already know, was one of the esteemed writers as well as an executive producer AND played the role of Ryan Howard (initially ‘The Temp.’ or ‘Fire Guy’) on the very successful TV show, The Office, which ran from 2005 to 2013. But that’s not all he’s known for: he’s an engaging stand-up comedian, screenwriter, author, director, and….oh, yeah—a former summer camper.

When he was closer to your age, B.J. spent a summer at Camp Ramah, a network of Jewish summer camps. Camp Ramah has locations all over the map, but, a Massachusite himself, Mr. Novak enjoyed his summer camp stay attending the Palmer, Massachusetts location of this co-ed Jewish camp.

Novak had a pretty average upbringing. He attended Newton South High School (along with his future costar of The Office, John Krasinski, oddly enough) and then went on to Harvard University! After graduating from Harvard in 2001, B.J. moved to L.A. and started doing stand-up in clubs.

It was here that Greg Daniels (the guy who instigated the American adaptation of the original British version of ‘The Office’) spotted Mr. Novak. Greg knew immediately after B.J.’s opening joke that he wanted to get B.J. involved in something. Soon after, B.J. became the very first cast member of the American version of ‘The Office’.

B.J. has trouble accepting his own success from time to time. “Sometimes,” he says, “When this feels too good to be true, I think that if this were all a dream, that would be what should have tipped me off. I’d wake up saying, ‘I was in this incredible TV show and it was a big hit and the star was John Krasinski from high school. Isn’t that weird?’”

Summer camp got B.J. going on the right path. What kind of path will camp put ahead of you? As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

Since SO MANY people go to summer camp every year, it should come as no surprise that people of all kinds end up attending summer camp—even big name Hollywood celebrities like Scott Foley went to camp once upon a time when they were closer to your age.

Maybe you know him best for his role as Bob Brown, the lead character in the television series, ‘The Unit’. Or maybe for his recurring role as Henry Burton in the television series ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.  Maybe you know him best as Roman Bridger from the third ‘Scream’ movie or maybe you know him better as Sean Kelly, Elliot Reid’s boyfriend on the sitcom ‘Scrubs’.

In any case, before he ever took on any such roles mentioned above, he went to summer camp at Red Arrow Camp. Located on Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin, this boys camp was founded in 1920 and has delivered the ultimate summer camp experience to other well-known people like Tommy Bartlett and Chris Farley.

Born in Kansas City, Scott was the oldest of three boys. When he was only 15, he lost his mother. Consequently, Scott ended up spending chunks of his childhood in places like Australia and Japan, following his father on business trips as an international banker.

Scott caught his break playing the character of Noel Crane on the television series ‘Felicity’ and continued to successfully broaden his acting career. But he didn’t stop there; he also tried his hand at directing. He got some good experience in, directing single episodes of television shows like ‘Felicity’ as well as ‘Monk’. He eventually wrote and directed his own film.

Quite an accomplished figure in Hollywood, Scott Foley attended summer camp and followed his interests and dreams. What will happen to you after camp? As always, thanks for reading, Campers.

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

Millions of kids have been attending summer camps for a very long time. Nowadays, it seems like everywhere you turn, there’s SOMEbody who went to camp when they were a kid—even celebrities—wait no, ESPECIALLY celebrities! Did you know that Hollywood legend Chevy Chase was a summer camper just like yourself when he was closer to your age?

Yep! Clark Griswold himself (Chevy’s serial character from the National Lampoon movies) was once a summer camper at Camp Tamakwa. There, in the beautiful environment of Algonquin Park in Canada, Chevy had a blast doing fun activities, making friends, and getting know himself.

Speaking of learning more about Chevy, first things first, his real name isn’t Chevy. It’s Cornelius. Cornelius Crane Chase. Nicknamed by his grandmother, the name Chevy comes from a folk song from the 14th Century called ‘The Ballad of Chevy Chase’.

Despite how well-off Chevy’s family was, Chevy still understood a solid work ethic as he put in the effort to support himself while pursuing a career in writing. He gained a lot of experience to put on his resumé by waiting tables, selling wine, managing a supermarket department, driving a cab and a truck, and working in construction.

He caught his first big break around 1975 when he landed a writing gig on NBC’s hit show, ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Originally hired on as a writer, it was during the show’s auditions that Chevy’s talents as a performer were just as valuable as his writing skills. SNL’s premiere sketch featured Chevy Chase who was then the first person to shout out, “Live from New York! It’s Saturday Night!”

Whether on an old SNL sketch, through the invention of Clark Griswold, or his latest character, Pierce Hawthorne, from the show ‘Community,’ over the years, Chevy has made us all laugh (sometimes until we cry). Summer camp did Chevy good. What will it do for you? As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

You know who else is a fan of summer camp? Michael Dell of Dell computers. That’s right. The founder and chief executive of Dell computers was a summer camper just like you when he was your age. He may be an accomplished, incredibly successful business mogul NOW, but back in the day, he was just like you: a kid at summer camp.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Michael went to Camp Champions, a co-ed summer camp located along the shores of Lake LBJ which is nearby Marble Falls.

Michael sold ‘Houston Post’ subscriptions as a 15-year-old high schooler. And, by simply reassessing and retargeting his prime clientele, Michael made about $18,000 that year (which was more than some of his teachers made).

A businessman before he grew up, Michael showed promising skills in taking apart computers and putting them back together. He attended college at the University of Texas studying pre-med. And while there, he started up an informal business that put together and sold upgrade kits for personal computers.

As insignificant as it was at the time, this was actually the very early beginning of Dell Inc. By the time he was 27, Michael had become the youngest CEO of the top 500 corporations. Dell is now the world’s third-largest computer hardware manufacturer.

Ranked in 2012 as the 41st richest person in the world, Michael puts his mountains of money to great use having founded the educational program called Breakthrough Austin. Helping underprivileged students to be all they can be, Breakthrough students receive personal, thorough, complete, and continuous support.

Unfortunately, it’s a fact that, in comparison to families that are better off, students who come from low-income families are less likely to attend college by a factor of seven! A family man himself, Michael understands how important it is that every child (independent of their family’s financial status) has an equal opportunity to receive an education. Everything Summer Camp couldn’t agree more.

Summer camp was an excellent experience for Michael Dell. What does it have in store for you? As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Campers!

Were you born to hit the big time? Made for the spotlight? Are you dying to be on TV or in the movies?  If so, that’s one thing you have in common with the one and only, Ms. Natalie Portman. You know what else you have in common with her? The both of you went to summer camp!

Natalie went to the unique camp, Stage Door Manor in New York for her exciting summer camp experience. Stage Door Manor Camp is just like any other summer camp, aside from the heavy concentration on theater involvement and the performing arts that they offer in their camp program.

Obviously, Natalie was interested in acting from an early age. Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Natalie’s parents (Shelley and Avner) moved to the United States when she was only three years old. Despite her young age by the time she moved to America, Natalie has always been fond of her birthplace. While she loves the United States, Natalie feels like Jerusalem is her true home.

When she was 13, Natalie took her first role in the action movie Léon. She played the part of an orphan who gets taken in by a man with a questionable occupation. Her real success, however, came to her suddenly when she turned 18 and was cast as Queen Amidala of the Star Wars prequels: Episodes I, II, and III.

In the same year that she started doing Star Wars, Natalie also enrolled at Harvard University where she studied psychology alongside her acting career—talk about juggling your education and career! She finished school two years before completing her role in the Star Wars prequels. Since then, her career has blossomed gracefully.

Natalie’s earned some awards for her work such as a Golden Globe, a Constellation Award, and a Saturn Award. Her dreams took her to summer camp and then to Hollywood! Where will camp and your dreams guide you?

- John