Ashley Ballou, human relations graduate student, is busy at camp this summer. She is not attending one, but supervises campers who stay at Adams Tower during many of the summer camps that take place at OU.

Ballou is one of several Sooner students who work for the university to keep campers fed, rested and busy.

“My official job is to make sure checkouts happen smoothly, but my real job to is to make sure sponsors and campers are all happy and that they have a good time,” she said. “You have to know [campers’] personalities, you have to read human behavior so that the end result is good for all parties.”

It’s fun to watch the kids experience their first taste of college life, Ballou said.

“Little 7 and 8 year olds walk in here as if they are freshmen on move-in day,” she said. “Several of them will have matching bedspreads and posters to put up even if they are staying only a few days.”

Dan Fisher, camp supervisor at Couch Tower, keeps busy with campers as well.

“We have had to unclog a few toilets,” Fisher said. “But otherwise, we just act like hotel clerks here in the dormitories.”

Fisher, a May graduate with a degree in political science, spends his days checking kids enrolled in camps into and out of the dorms. He regularly interacts with local campers and their parents.

Many of the camps are athletic or academic centered, host children aged 6 to over 20 and specialize in a variety of fields including gymnastics, cheer, football and math. Additionally, incoming freshman can participate in Camp Crimson, an orientation program that takes place before the fall semester.

“Really we just want everyone to be safe and happy with what they are doing,” Ballou said.