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Where are they now? Alumni Spotlight-5th Edition

wherearetheynowIt’s that time for another edition of Camp Towanda “Where Are They Now?” We have four new alum sharing their fond memories and stories about the camp we love!  We are posting these in the order they come in, and this week we happen to have a double dose of Dorm ’99 girls! Plus a former Olympiad from the ’90s and someone from Club ’02.

Please keep your entries coming and send to [email protected].  We have so many more great ones to share with you!

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Matt Levy


  1. Dorm / Club Year:  Club 1994
  2. College Attended?  University of Pennsylvania (Wharton); Tulane University Law School
  3. Current Career:  Anheuser-Busch (Business Services Center, Project Management)
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way?  Yes.  Socializing with people from all walks off life.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity?  waterskiing
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? 1994 olympics (won Olympiad); or watching Marc Penziner “street luge” down the hill from boys camp to the infirmary
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song.  “Devils arise with brimstone and flame; we’re here tonight to stake out our claim.” (1989 Red Devils)
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? take lots of pictures
  9. Fill in the blank: When I hear American Pie I think of Camp Towanda!

Michelle Goldblum

  1. Dorm / Club Year: 1999
  2. College Attended? The George Washington University
  3. Current Career: Founder of I AM. creative, a full service brand strategy, brand development, design & marketing agency specializing in the mind/body/spirit, wellness, self-empowerment, self-improvement space.
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? 100%. 3-minute showers have continued to be clutch in my life.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? Senior Year Canoe trip… Olympics ’99… Tweens & Juniors Tropical Paradise.
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? First kiss and getting camper captain (is that so horrible and cliche to say?)
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song. Go down,  Moses,:  Way down in Egypt’s land, tell old pharoah, let my people go!
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? 2 months is so incredibly short. Don’t worry about what bunk you are in. Don’t worry about being the counselors favorite. JUST PLAY and laugh and be happy to be outside.
  9. Fill in the blank: When I think of walking up the grassy knoll, see someone in a british soccer jersey, watch fireworks, hear American Pie or eat french toast, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? I wish i remembered the rules for ghost to be able to answer this question!

AJ Axelrod

  1. Dorm / Club Year: 2002
  2. College Attended: Vanderbilt University
  3. Current Career: Management Consulting
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? My first college roommate was a camp friend as are many of my lifelong friends. It helped me adjust to the communal living aspect of college.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? everything
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? Becoming a camper captain (My father and I are the first father son combination) and rope burning but there are so many small moments that stand out too.
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song. the last 2 lines of American Pie, I was always hungry by then.
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? Do everything you can possibly do, get in a little bit of trouble, but not the serious kind. If you’re a boy, chase more girls it’s good practice for later in life and the girls are really in charge anyway. Stay in touch with your counselors. When you’re 20+ they don’t seem so much older than you and you may seem them all over the world if you travel. I’ve seen counselors in Colorado, NY, London and Sydney Australia.
  9. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be?  I would ban boxing out on the jump to start the match. I used it to win the jump all the time. I would also ban sacrificing yourself to become a ghost.

Rachel Berkman Bloom 

  1. Dorm Year: 1999
  2. College Attended: University of Michigan
  3. Current Career: Private Equestrian/Athletic Tutor, Judith Ripka South Florida Representative
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? Towanda helped me learn to be independent.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? It is too hard to pick just one! Maybe DJ nights. OH and when we had an all camp water fight and gold rush. Trip days, the list goes on…
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? My first Olympic breakout in 1993
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song.  Our entire Tween/Junior girls sing cheer and march – I still know every word! Tweens and Juniors take the stage, time to prove we are the best, sing is here and there’s no doubt that we’re gonna beat the rest check it out!…
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? Enjoy every second of every day, and take a lot of pictures and never lose them.
  9. Fill in the blank: When I smell a particular summer night , see my old camp shirts in my drawer, watch Wet Hot American Summer, hear American Pie (of course) or eat milk and cookies, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? If I could add one rule to ghost it would be that people walking by can be considered ghosts and brought into the game for one throw.
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Where are they now? Alumni Spotlight- 4th Edition

wherearetheynow

Our Alumni Spotlight CAMPaign is back with 5 new alum sharing their fond memories and insights about the camp we love! Please keep your entries coming and send to [email protected].  We have so many more great ones to share with you! 

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Ross Prussin, Camp Towanda Club 1993

Ross Prussin

  1. Dorm / Club Year: Club 1993
  2. College Attended? University of Colorado at Boulder
  3. Current Career: Equity Derivative Sales
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? Yes, it taught me to better adjust to having my own independence. And the networking skills I learned are unequivocal. I can play a mean game of Jewish geography.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? My favorite camp activity would be either intracamp sports or rope burning
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? 1986 Breakout at the waterfront (Red Explorers vs. Blue Emperors).
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song.    ….I learned what love and friendship really meanTTT…..
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers?  Enjoy each and every moment at camp and savor each day because one day when you are old like me, you will still only want to be in one place when each summer rolls around.
  9. Fill in the blank: When I think of Bill Alexander, Jerry Maze, Byron and Bill or Al Foley, hear Billy Joel or eat Corn Pops, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? Or if you are from the Pre-GHOST era: if you could add an event to The Great Apache Relay, what would it be? I would add a hot dog eating contest to the Apache Relay. There should definitely be some sort of eating contest in there.

Maxx Rapaport

  1. Dorm / Club Year: 2003
  2. College Attended? Indiana University
  3. Current Career: Sales Planner at the National Football League
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? It’s all about communicating with people, finding a common ground, and building relationships. That is also the way I view sales.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? Rope Burning. The best times at camp where down time, shooting the breeze on the porch with your bunk mates, or going for a walk during UTL.
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? Winning Rope Burning was a big one, watching my sister get CC was huge.
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song. C-L-U-B, you know who you want to be…
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? Say “yes” to everything. You aren’t better than anyone else in the bunk. Strive for relationships, especially with with BOB, Pelton and Z.
  9. Fill in the blank: When I think of the happiest times in my childhood, see my camp friends or girlfriend, watch Ferris Buller’s day off or any of the BYOC movies, hear American pie or eat peanut butter and jelly, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? GHOST is perfect as it is.

Brooke Gomberg (now Brooke Weissman)

  1. Dorm / Club Year: Dorm 1997 ( I am pretty sure, oye)
  2. College Attended? University of Wisconsin- Madison
  3. Current Career: Luxury Director, Hearst Digital Media ( a division of Hearst corp). Oversee Beauty for the digital women’s division covering brands such as: ELLE.com, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmo, Marie Claire, Redbook & Good Housekeeping and cover all beauty advertisers for the brands
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? Camp Towanda helped me learn how to adapt to others. For example, in the real world you are faced with challenges everyday; such as personality differences and disagreements. Learning how to live, and work together with others allowed me to learn how to adapt to changing circumstances and be the best person I can be.  I also used to be very homesick when i was younger, thinking that it would never go away–but never giving up and sticking something out always has the most amazing results!
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? Without a doubt, Tennis. I used to be good!! And Olympics of course
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp? Being named a camper captain of Olympics and then a few years later, General!
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song. “Kings and Queens and Bishops too”
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? Cherish the friends and the memories you make–some of my best memories were at camp!
  9. Fill in the blank: When I think of ___Hershey Park____, see___my old towanda tees_____, watch___wet hot american summer_____, hear _revelee________ or eat __chocolate chip cookies________, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? I was in the ghost era, but I need a brush up on the rules. Are you allowed to go back in once you are out?
jessicahartman
Jessica Hartmann, Camp Towanda Counselor 2007

Jessica Hartmann

  1. Counselor 2007
  2. College Attended?: Skidmore College
  3. Current Career: Surgical Coordinator, Plastic Surgery Department at Boston Children’s Hospital
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way?  At camp, you learn to live with a bunch of people from different backgrounds and home rules, but while at camp everyone learns to live together and abide by the rules of camp.  You may not agree with everything, but you make it work.
  5. What was your favorite camp activity? Gymnastics!
  6. What is your most memorable moment at camp?  I went with the girl’s gymnastics team to a meet at Camp Wayne, and we were recognized for our sportsmanship.  I was so proud of our girls and how well they represented Towanda!
  7. Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song. “Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name – Camp Towanda!”  And “Love will pervade us though miles separate us”
  8. What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers?  Enjoy every moment of camp and appreciate being surrounding by people who genuinely want to be your friend and want the best for you.  Your camp years will be over before you know it.
  9. Fill in the blank: When I think of hot summer days, see the Scranton PA sign , watch the Baseball All Star game, hear American Pie or eat chocolate chip cookies that are never as good as Jonesie’s, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10. If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? Ahh!  I don’t know – I always had trouble keeping them all straight to begin with!

Risa Rabinowitz

  1. Dorm 2005
  2. College Attended: University of Michigan
  3. Current Career: Graduate School
  4. Did Towanda help prepare you for the “real world”? In what way? YES. I learned that it is impossible to be successful in everything when you are trying it for the first time; new experiences are a good thing and should be embraced; folding socks is both important AND practical.
  5.  What was your favorite camp activity? My favorite camp activity was soccer!
  6. What was your most memorable moment at camp? My most memorable moment at camp was during the last few weeks of Dorm summer. I accidentally threw out an envelope filled with cash that my mom and dad had sent me to put in the bank for the last few camp trips. I got out of the shower and was about to get dressed for dinner when I saw an envelope filled with the same amount of money on my bed–my dorm sisters each chipped in and replaced every dollar for me. That was when I realized that I was part of a group of girls that would do absolutely anything for one another without being asked.
  7.  Give us a line or two of your favorite camp song. YOU BOTH KICKED OFF YOUR SHOES, MAN I DIG THOSE RYTHM AND BLUES!!!
  8.  What words of wisdom would you share with today’s campers? Don’t be scared to keep going back to camp for as long as you can. People who say that “it is time to become a part of the real world,” don’t understand that Camp Towanda is as real as it gets.
  9. Fill in the blank. When I think of Dip n’ Dots, see fireworks, watch kids playing knockout, hear taps, I think of Camp Towanda!
  10.  If you could add a rule for GHOST, what would it be? If it is after lunch, and sloppy joes were served AT lunch, you are not allowed to aim at someone’s stomach.

Missed an edition of Camp Towanda Alumni: “Where are they now?”? You can check them all out here on the blog

https://camptowanda.com/blog/category/alumni-spotlight/

And don’t forget to join The Camp Towanda Network on LinkedIn!