For Gillian Rossi, Muskoka Woods has always been more than a summer camp. It’s a place of community, connection and personal growth that has played an important role in shaping who she is today.
Gillian’s journey began as a young guest at Muskoka Woods and eventually led her back as a staff member. Along the way, she spent two years teaching in Nunavut and worked with Timbergrove Lodge, a Muskoka Woods Youth Foundation program that provides meaningful camp experiences for young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend.
Now back at Muskoka Woods as Manager, Executive Strategy, Gillian reflects on the experiences, relationships and lessons that have shaped her journey, and why she believes every young person deserves the opportunity to feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their potential.
We caught up with Gillian to learn more about her story and the lasting impact of the Muskoka Woods experience.
Let’s start at the beginning! What first brought you to Muskoka Woods, and what made you fall in love with the place?
My first introduction to Muskoka Woods was as a guest when I was 11 or 12 years old. I remember attending for a couple of summers, spending a week at a time with a friend. Certain memories still stand out to me, like the carnival, the High School Musical-themed opening shows, and the old photos I have somewhere of my counsellors and cabinmates. Clearly, those early experiences at camp left a lasting impression, as they’re memories I can still share all these years later.
Fast forward to my undergraduate years, when I was reintroduced to Muskoka Woods through a Bible study in Toronto. I knew the person leading the study through our involvement in our university’s athletic department, but I didn’t realize it was a Muskoka Woods Bible study until I attended and met everyone, learning that most of them were Muskoka Woods alumni.
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I worked my first summer at camp, but that Bible study brought Muskoka Woods back into my life. It reminded me that Muskoka Woods was not only a place that had provided me with community as a young guest, but also a place that continued to foster a strong sense of community among its staff and alumni. That experience planted a seed that would eventually bring me back to camp.
You spent a summer working with Timbergrove Lodge, a program that gives youth who might not otherwise have the opportunity a chance to experience camp. Is there a particular guest, moment, or story from that summer that has stayed with you?
There are so many guests, moments, and stories from my summer working with Timbergrove Lodge that have stayed with me, making it difficult to choose just one.
Going into that summer, I had just completed a two-year teaching contract in Nunavut. It was my first full-time teaching position, which I began immediately after graduating from university. Teaching in Nunavut broadened my perspective in many ways, particularly in my understanding of Inuit students and their experiences. When we welcomed youth and their leaders from Mishkeegogamang First Nation to Timbergrove Lodge during the first week of summer, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity between the youth stepping off the bus and the students I had connected with while teaching in Nunavut.
One evening, I was fortunate enough to join the group as their leaders facilitated a session on resiliency in the Timbergrove Lodge common space. Together, they discussed challenging yet prevalent issues within their community, many of which these youth were experiencing personally. Spending a week at Timbergrove Lodge may not have changed the circumstances they faced at home. However, as the week went on, it created a safe space for them to smile, laugh, and simply have fun. We have a photo of one guest from this group going down the Kraken, and the smile captured in that moment speaks volumes about the impact and importance of the Foundation and Timbergrove Lodge.
Following Mishkeegogamang, we welcomed a youth group from rural Ontario whose leader emphasized how meaningful it was for their youth to experience the security of having three guaranteed meals, along with snacks, each day. That same leader shared a story about one of their youth who, during their time at camp, smiled a genuine smile for the first time in months.
Weeks later, I remember hearing a 12-year-old guest shout, “I feel like I’m flying!” while paddleboarding for the very first time. Their voice still echoes in my mind. Woven throughout all of these experiences, I’ve also had the privilege of watching Timbergrove Lodge groups and individual guests find the courage to step onto the stage at Impact and share their talents with the rest of camp, whether through dance, spoken word, or singing.
At its heart, the Timbergrove Lodge program communicates something incredibly important to every young person who experiences it: regardless of the circumstances they come from, they matter. They are deserving of caring staff, meaningful experiences, and the opportunity to simply be kids.
After your time at Muskoka Woods, your journey took you all the way to Nunavut, where you worked as a teacher. Can you tell us a little about that experience? Were there any lessons or experiences from your time at Muskoka Woods that you found yourself drawing on while working with young people in Nunavut?
My first summer working at Muskoka Woods was in 2021. Following that summer, I began my first full-time teaching position and, little did I know, what would become the biggest adventure of my life.
Teaching in Nunavut introduced me to an entirely different part of Canada, one I’m not sure I would have experienced otherwise. As if being a first-year teacher wasn’t challenging enough, I was also learning to adjust to a completely new way of life in a remote Northern community.
One lesson from Muskoka Woods that I carried with me into my classroom, my interactions with others, and even my everyday life was its model of leadership: “A leader is someone who looks at their world, says it doesn’t have to be this way, and does something about it.”
That perspective has always resonated with me. It’s the idea that leadership isn’t necessarily about a title or position, but about being empowered to recognize when something could be different or better and taking action to make that change. Whether in my classroom or in everyday situations, it challenged me to look beyond the way things are and consider what I could do to make a difference.
Beyond the lessons in leadership, Muskoka Woods also played an important role in shaping my perspective during my time in Nunavut. For much of my first year, I found myself missing the trees. I remember counting down the days until I could return to camp, surrounded by the beautiful Muskoka lakes and forests.
When I returned to Muskoka Woods in the summer of 2022, after completing my first year of teaching, there was one particular moment during Cadence that stayed with me. I had stepped outside the tent (it was still COVID times) and stood looking out across the property toward the distant tree line and lake, with the sun shining overhead. I remember feeling overwhelmed with emotion. After spending so much of the year missing the trees, there I was, finally surrounded by them again. But in that moment, I was also reminded that the same God who created those beautiful trees and lakes had also created the incredibly stunning tundra I had been living in. It was a moment of realization that gave me a new appreciation for the beauty of both places.
That shift in perspective stayed with me, and the time I spent at Muskoka Woods that summer helped equip me for what would become an amazing second year of living and teaching in Nunavut.
You’ve had the opportunity to work with young people in very different environments, from Muskoka Woods to Nunavut. Looking back, what do you think makes the Muskoka Woods experience so special, and why do you believe opportunities like Timbergrove Lodge matter?
Opportunities like Timbergrove Lodge matter because they communicate something incredibly important to young people who may often be made to feel that they don’t matter: that they do.
For youth who are being forced to grow up much faster than they should because of challenging circumstances at home, Timbergrove Lodge becomes a place that reminds them it’s okay to simply be kids. It’s a place where they can feel free to laugh, smile, have fun, and enjoy the moment without the weight of their everyday circumstances.
These young people deserve to know that opportunities are available to them, that their potential is worth investing in, and that there are people in their corner who genuinely want to help them discover and unlock that potential.
Now that you’ve returned to Muskoka Woods, what does it mean to be back? When you reflect on your journey, how has Muskoka Woods shaped the person you’ve become, both personally and professionally?
Being back at Muskoka Woods reminds me how meaningful it is to work for a purpose-driven organization, surrounded by people who centre their work around God’s leadership.
On a personal level, Muskoka Woods has shaped me through the community it has provided. It has given me lifelong friendships, helped me grow in my faith, and surrounded me with mentors and leaders whom I’ve had the privilege of learning from.
Professionally, Muskoka Woods has given me opportunities to step into roles where I didn’t necessarily have previous experience, but where others saw my potential and trusted in my ability to succeed. Having the space, trust, and encouragement to step into positions that initially came with some hesitation and discomfort has challenged me to grow in ways I may not have otherwise. Those opportunities have allowed me to develop new skills, strengthen existing ones, and grow in confidence as a leader.
