Meet Jackson!
With the 2025 Camp season in full swing, we invite you to get to know our Summer Team! Jackson works with LAJF year-round as one of our Program Coordinators and this summer will serve as Assistant Camp Director for CRS. Check out our interview with him below:
Can you briefly introduce yourself? Where are you from?
Hello! My name is Jackson Schneider, I am from Louisiana but currently live in New York City. I am a Program Coordinator for the Louis August Jonas Foundation as well as one of the Assistant Camp Directors at Camp Rising Sun.
What originally brought you to CRS?
I attended CRS as a camper in 2018 and 2019 because as a low-income family, experiences like this one are often far out of reach. The international community, leadership education, and the commitment to bettering one’s communities through the pursuit of humanitarian goals are what drew me to CRS.
Has CRS changed the way you think about leadership? If so, how?
I think of leadership more as an act of service now than I had before coming to Camp. Leadership is giving a part of oneself to others, often without notice, to allow them to grow and thrive.
What is your favorite part of the CRS experience?
My favorite part of CRS is the cultural exchange elements of our programming. For so many of our campers, this is the first time they are leaving their home countries and interacting with kids from many different backgrounds, so it is an incredibly transformative experience for them. I love witnessing it in real time.
What does ethical leadership mean to you?
Leading from a place of love for the community.
Who is someone (in your life or well-known) who you think is an example of an ethical leader?
I’ve been very inspired by Greta Thunberg’s commitment to fighting for a better world in recent years.
What is your intention or hope for the summer?
I hope that, in these times that can feel bleak and hopeless, the young leaders who will pass through these grounds in just a few short weeks will be inspired to work towards a better future.
If you could travel to any place in the world right now, where would you go and why?
I would love to travel through Japan or Thailand, since I haven’t been to Asia yet!
What is something you are passionate about in your life?
The right for LGBT+ people across the world to feel safe and free to be who they are.
Your favorite spot at Camp?
The Lil’ Libby.
Words you live by?
Each and every one of us is just the universe manifesting itself in a particular way for a while. We’re all made of the same stuff.
What’s on your summer camp reading list?
I bought The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, which I’ve never read before, so I’m excited to have some time this summer!
What does a more ethical and compassionate world look like to you?
A world in which everyone, no matter their identity, is free to discover who they are and has the agency to live their lives exactly the way they want without fear of violence, isolation, or impoverishment.