When Emily Schloss was 5 years old, she began attending Camp Louise in Washington County, Maryland, just south of the Mason-Dixon Line. She’s a fourth-generation camper, and knew pretty quickly after starting that Camp Louise would mean a lot to her.

Like all campers, she aged out. But that didn’t mark the end of her involvement.

Today, the Pikesville resident and Chizuk Amuno member is a unit leader at the camp after spending a few summers as a counselor.

“At this point, it’s built into my routine that I return to camp each summer. It’s such a special place, and I think that the people here and the environment are unlike anything else,” she said.

Schloss welcomes summers spent at camp these days, particularly after graduating this past May from the University of Maryland with a degree in psychology. Camp Louise is still work, but it’s a nice respite between undergrad studies and the start of her master’s program at UMD, where she’ll focus on social work.

“I think camp plays a perfect role in my career and my mental health and wanting to work with kids. I like to refer to this as my internship for the summer, just because it’s so relevant to what I want to do with my future,” she said.

For Schloss, the ultimate goal is to work in private practice therapy with children, as well as generally advocating for the importance of mental health maintenance. True to her camp spirit, one thing Schloss knows for certain is the age group she wants to serve.

“I definitely want to work with kids and adolescents,” she said.

Hailing from Pikesville, in addition to living there today, Schloss is a true Baltimorean. While Camp Louise is almost 70 miles away from Charm City, it doesn’t feel that far off culturally.
“There’s a large Baltimore group there,” Schloss said. “The main office is in Baltimore, so I think they cater to people from the general area a lot. There’s definitely people from my community who attend camp, and also just from the larger DMV area.”

While her undergrad tenure was spent closer to D.C. than Baltimore, Schloss said Pikesville is home. Ultimately, what makes it so special is a phrase familiar to many: Jewish geography.

“We can’t really go anywhere without seeing someone we know, which I think is really special. Everyone’s connected in this community, and I think it’s really important now to be in a Jewish community where we feel safe and appreciated and everyone knows each other and wants to be included,” she said.

In Schloss’ opinion, the city and region are wonderful, too.

“The connections you make in Baltimore are really special,” she said. “It’s such a great town, and my whole family is still in Baltimore. Everyone that I love is in Baltimore, and it just makes me want to stick around.”

While Schloss could see herself eventually opting for a slight change of scenery in the nation’s capital or northern Virginia, she said that won’t change what Baltimore is for her.
“Baltimore is always going to be the place I’ll call home,” she said.

As Schloss reflects on her time as a camper and career with the camp, she thinks her story is not necessarily a unique one. Every year, she sees young people come to Camp Louise and experience something so wonderful it sticks with them even as they get older.

“I think it makes a huge impact on a child’s life to send them to Jewish summer camp. It’s such a special community. Louise, and I’m sure other camps are, too, is a screen-free environment. It’s a really nice time to be outside, make genuine connections and friendships that are different than [the ones] children are going to make in school, because you’re living with these people,” she said. “The friendships I have made here are some of the most special friendships in my life … sending your child to Jewish summer camp is not only a gift for the child, but a gift for the parent, as well. I think your child will come home more independent and more like themselves.”

Camp Louise helped Schloss become the woman she is today, and now she gets to create the same path for new generations of campers. She might not work at camp forever, but she’s making her time there count.

aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com