Cast of Characters (Episode #6): Q & A with Scott Shupe

What is your name?

Scott Shupe

How many years have you been at Kingswood / what was your first year at Kingswood?

18 years/2000

How would you describe your role at Kingswood?

I sometimes lead hiking trips, sometimes coach the coaches, and once I set up a speaker for the camp movie. I also put brown paint on cabins. Note: Scott has a habit of understating his value and role in the camp community. He is one of our most important administrators, a terrific coach and teacher, and an incredibly significant influence / role model for many campers and counselors.

What is your favorite camp memory?

Rest hour 2006 – Scott Neff and I were annoyed with the large population of our Guides cabin, so we were lying on the floor thinking how to set up a better cabin dynamic. During a moment when we wanted everyone in the cabin to stay quiet, they decided it would be funny to start chanting names of items and humans they see nearby with only one syllable… They were right.

In that moment, we recognized the beauty of how the campers were figuring out their own dynamic by being silly fifteen year olds.

Also: Hiking the Mahoosuc Range with the Guides for the first time was surreal – the “hardest mile on the AT” is sheer bliss.

What makes Kingswood special to you?

After spending a summer at Kingswood in 2000, I knew I’d need to do whatever I could to spend the rest of my summers there. So now I teach middle school age children during the off-season in order to have summers free to be on Lake Tarleton.

What is your favorite place on campus?

Main Lodge porch facing the lake in a rocker.