Camille Balda
Julia is incredibly hard working, passionate, optimistic, and a general joy to be around. Her first year working with the YMCA Day Camp team, she was a Creative Arts, Dance, and Drama counsellor. That summer I saw an incredible amount of maturity and patience that I would not expect from someone so young. She managed to not only provide flawless direct supervision of 12 children; she also was able to put on a variety of performances weekly with her campers to show their parents. The following summer Julia applied to the same position, but I felt that because her performance was so remarkable in her past role, that she would be fit to be promoted to a Program Head. To say she thrived is an understatement. Julia’s passion in working with children and providing leadership to the 10 counsellors who fell under her supervision was evident in her everyday work ethic. She would arrive to work everyday with a bright smile and ready to tackle whatever the day had to throw at us. From spending 1.5 hours convincing a young child to leave the play structure, to breaking up fights and altercations with the Sr. Boys, Julia gave her all. Not only was she the youngest Program Head in the history of that location, that year she was the youngest Program Head in all of Toronto. Words don’t encompass how phenomenal she is with children, but just know that she is incredibly dependable, mature, quick on her feet, a fast learner, kind, patient, and generally a ray of sunshine. If you have the pleasure of hiring her, there is no doubt in my mind that she will blow your expectations out of the water. Please feel free to contact me should you have any other questions.
