Staff Spotlight: Susie, Cooking

To help our blog readers get to know our leadership team better, I’ll be featuring a few. In this month’s Frogbridge Staff Spotlight, you’ll get to know Susie (Miss Sue), our cooking instructor. Susie, a long time Kindergarten teacher in Ocean County, has been with our day camp for eight summers. When she’s not teaching or spending time with her family, she enjoys painting and writing. Susie doubles as a Frogbridge face painter sometimes! Fun fact: She’s actually written three children’s books and is in the process of publishing one. When I asked her what she likes most about Frogbridge, without hesitation she replied: the children. She also said she loves being our cooking instructor because she gets to introduce campers to new things and they look forward to it.
“Cooking is a favorite elective. The campers love it. It allows them to be creative with food. I introduce them to new things and they look forward to it,” Susie noted.
What do campers learn how to make from Susie? For starters, there are churros that have continuously been a camper favorite. Plus, being Italian, teaching campers how to make Strombolis (Italian hot pockets) comes naturally to her. Then there’s apple pie, pigs in a blanket, parfait with fruit, taco pizza, and rainy day s’mores, just to name a few. When I asked Susie what her most memorable experience has been as a team member at Frogbridge, she elaborated on the time she returned after being sick:
“I was off for a month due to illness and returned as a surprise guest judge for Mr. and Mrs. Frogbridge. The warm welcome I got when I returned is something I’ll never forget. I think it was the most memorable experience I ever had in my life. Everyone was yelling and screaming (due to being surprised) and were just so welcoming to have me back. They reminded me of an America’s Got Talent audience.”
I asked Susie to note what she would tell parents who are thinking about sending their children to this Monmouth County Day Camp. I am overwhelmed by her response:
“Why wouldn’t you send your children to Frogbridge? I sent my child there and I wouldn’t just send her anywhere. Frogbridge is the “Disney World” of camps. I was privileged to have the opportunity to send my daughter there and I have recommended many of my students. Our team members are very professional. Safety is always no. 1. Everything is very clean. There’s no tolerance for negligence. As a parent, you want all these things in day camp.”
In closing, Susie asked that I leave you with this quote:
“God’s greatest gift to us is children.” She feels privileged to work with the children at Frogbridge and she’s excited to be entering her 9th summer.