International Staff

Spend your summer doing something great!!  Join the Willoway team, work with college aged peers, and making a difference in the lives of children ages 5-14.  

Willoway has been welcoming international staff to work at camp since 1996.  Over these nearly 30 years, international staff (mainly from the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand) have brought incredible culture diversity, skills, and a passion for working with campers.  International staff come to camp through three staff placement agencies (Camp America, Camp Leaders and CCUSA) who help with your visas, medical insurance, flights and logistical support. 

Once you arrive at camp, it’s a summer of a lifetime.  International staff make up about 30 people of Willoway’s staff team of approximately 80 staff.  Internationals serve as both counselors and lifeguards and make a lasting impact on campers and staff both.

Willoway is the best summer job ever! Don't just take our word for it, hear from some staff!

About Willoway Day Camp

Willoway Day Camp, located in Milford, Michigan (in Metropolitan Detroit) has been offering the best summer ever for campers and staff since 1969.  Boys and girls ages 5 to 14, many of whom are second generation camp families, spend their summers at Willoway.

From our two swimming pools, built especially for children, to our pond & lakesite, our animal farm, nature trail, low ropes-initiative challenge course, “ga-ga-ga” courts, athletic fields, tennis courts, go-kart track, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, archery range and more, Willoway is the place to be.

The Complete Camp Experience -- and you go home at night!

Willoway is a day camp, meaning campers come to camp from approximately 9am-4pm, Monday through Friday.  They travel on the bus (picture yellow American school buses) each day to camp.  As counselors, you are responsible, with a co-counselor, for ensuring the safe, fun summer experience of a group of 12-14 children.  

In the evenings and on the weekends you get to explore the Metro Detroit area, a vibrant community in the suburbs of Detroit. You’ll have opportunities to see Detroit Tigers baseball games, shop in American malls, enjoy local restaurants, spend weekends at the lake (Michigan has lots of lakes) and more.  With a staff of nearly 80 counselors, our international staff quickly befriend American staff and spend weekends and evenings together hanging out and having fun. Monday night soccer (aka football games) are often a highlight for our staff. Working at Willoway is the best of both worlds, you get a genuine camp experience, while maintaining a social life with your new co-councillors and friends.

Why should I work at a day camp?

We understand that when you think of working at a summer camp you’re probably imagining what you see in the movies. The great thing about Willoway is that you get that exact experience, with that added bonus of maintaining a work-life balance. Traditional summer camps give staff 1 day off every week spent in the rural community that these camps are situated in. At Willoway on the other hand you get every weekend (and the 4th of July) off. Weekends are spent socializing with staff, many of who live in the local college campuses of University of Michigan and Michigan State University. 

Where do you live? Host family life.

International staff live with camper families who open their homes to host members of our international team.

• Homes are in the suburbs
• Staff usually live in pairs at host families
• Help babysit 1 night each week
• Camp pays a stipend to the family (you don’t have out of pocket costs, except for spending money for social events with friends).
• Chance to experience American culture while living with a family.

What will you gain through a summer at Willoway?

• An unforgettable experience where you will meet friends for life. A chance to travel the states and memories that will last long beyond a summer. You get to make a genuine impact in the lives of your campers who will remember you for years to come.