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Meet Brie M.

Kids on Campus Summer Academy Director

If you’re looking for a safe, fun and educational camp experience for your kids this summer, look no further than Hudson Valley’s Kids on Campus programs. These programs, offered at Hudson Valley each summer, have been a community staple for more than 30 years now. 

Kids on Campus programs span plenty of interests and age groups, in half or full day increments. Options range from athletic camps to science and robotics; from coding to cooking to circus clown training; and from arts and crafts to video game building, technology enrichment and more. This summer, there are also plenty of new virtual camps being offered, allowing kids to stay engaged and interactive with others their age who share their interests without having to leave home.

Summer Academy Director Brie Marchese has a passion for providing this unique summer experience for Capital Region kids. When she was a kid herself, she participated in Kids on Campus programs each summer, an experience she looked forward to all year. Once she was in college, she spent summers as a counselor for the Summer Academy programs—ranging from cooking to arts and crafts to history, science and nature, and other classes—and, after earning her degree in education, started teaching some of the classes herself. Today, Brie teaches elementary ENL (English as a New Language) classes for South Colonie Central School District—but she brings her love of education back to the Kids on Campus program each summer.

“Working with the Kids on Campus program is something that I look forward to at the conclusion of every school year,” Brie says. “I love having the ability to encourage, teach and develop minds in a creative way. And the ability to work alongside fellow educators and assist students during the summer is not only enriching, but equally fulfilling.”

There are plenty of fellow educators to work with, because one of the distinctions of the Kids on Campus programs is that nearly every camp instructor is also a professional educator. Elementary and secondary level teachers oversee camp counselors to give children a top-notch camp experience. Classes are broken up by grade level, so that elementary schoolers, middle schoolers and high schoolers alike are learning and socializing with peers their own age, on their own level. That’s important on an academic level, but also a social one—and, as Brie points out, Kids on Campus provides an excellent opportunity for kids to socialize safely this summer.

“My hope is that each child who attends classes and camps through the Kids on Campus program walks away with the desire to learn more,” says Brie. “While the last year has been extraordinarily hard for all, we cannot wait to see our old friends again - and hopefully make some new ones, too!”