MEET the New
Camp Director!

February 2025

Hello campers!

I am tasked to write a message to say hello and tell  you about your new camp director…me!

I am a fourth generation camper here at Fryeburg New Church Assembly and I have attended camp almost every year of my life since I was a baby. Camp has always been one of the most important things in my life, pretty much since I could form memories.

I’ve done different jobs over the years: Childcare Provider, Religion Class Teacher, and Assistant Camp Director. I have served on the Board of Directors since 2016, serving as the Board Secretary from 2020-2024. I’m also a member of the Bylaw Review Committee, where I serve as Secretary. FNCA is near and dear to my heart. Bringing everyone together in community and in service to one another and our Higher Power is a beautiful tradition I feel blessed to be a part of.

About me… let’s see. I live in Petersburgh, NY with my husband Chris (who is also the Head Cook at camp) and our pets. We have a puggle, Lexi, who we rescued quite a few
years ago and is now a proper senior lady who loves treats, sleeping, short walks, treats, and more sleeping. We also have a Maine coon cat named Aslaan (or as he would correct me and say “His Excellency King Aslaan”). Aslaan is two years old and a giant fluffy bundle of energy who plans to eat us all out of house and home. We are soon welcoming another Maine coon, Prince Caspian, so our little house will be full of more floof and fun. When I am not working, I enjoy crafting, reading, listening to audiobooks, kayaking, and generally just appreciating nature. 

About what I do for a living… I have spent my entire life in one sort of school or another. I finished Business school and decided that cubicles and entrepreneurship weren’t really for me, switching gears into Education and never looked back. I completed my Masters in Special Education & Literacy and went out and taught for a few years, eventually returning to college to complete my PhD in Educational Psychology, concentrating in Special Education. My focus was on mentoring new teachers as well as research regarding students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

Ultimately, I did not feel satisfied in academia and really missed being around kids every day. I grew tired of teaching college and missed teaching kids! So I hung up my academic hat and went back into the school system, where I currently teach a self-contained classroom for students with severe social and emotional learning needs. It is exhausting work, but incredibly fulfilling and extremely rewarding. I absolutely love it and I have zero regrets about leaving the University world.
 

I am looking forward to another great year at camp! We have many traditions to continue, new ones to start, songs to sing, prayers to say, meals to share, all filled with laughs and love. Join us, bring a friend, come and gather to refuel your soul at camp. See you all in August! 

Yours in service,

Emily Tergliafera

Fryeburg New Church Assembly Camp Director