Hugo

he/him

London, England

Waterski

My name is Hugo Winter (he/him) and I am from London, England, but my Dad is originally from the US and my Mum is from France: yes I do speak French! I am currently 20 and a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame where I am going to major in modern history and economics and I hope to go to law school or become a diplomat of sorts. This will be my fifth year at ADK, of which three have been spent as a camper from Buffalo (14) to Crazy Horse (16). For my second year as a counsellor at ADK I will be teaching water skiing… fun fact, in my ranger year I won the award for best waterskier! I actually learnt how to slalom ski at ADK in my first year as a camper and started practising at home because of how much I loved it.

My favourite things to do in my spare time would be playing football (soccer), snow skiing (big skier here who used to race back in Europe) and of course waterski during the summer. I also really enjoy working out, a hobby developed during the pandemic. Water skiing is not the only sport I properly learnt at ADK that I decided to do back home; I became an avid white water kayaker and during the summer I brought my windsurfing skills from the shores of Lake George to the beaches of the Mediterranean! I don’t spend all my time playing sports. I’m a huge history buff (explains my major!) who spends hours studying biographies of famous figures throughout history and loves reading about military history during the past 200 years.

Before my first year of camp, I was absolutely terrified to come from a different country and to spend four weeks in America and was convinced that I would never come back. Camp ADK not only convinced me to come back for another two years and now twice as a counsellor, but also made me come to the US for university. Although I have mentioned sport many times (one can tell that I am big fan of the variety of activities ADK has to offer) what truly makes ADK special are the friendships that I made and the spirit that it encapsulates— I really felt at home whilst at ADK. I flourished at ADK, which helped me gain the confidence to grow into the person I am today. I would like to help campers experience the same growth that I felt during my time as a camper.