Meet Our Staff: Sammi Novak – Staff Director

We’re excited to introduce to you our Staff Director, Sammi! Sammi loves hiking, camping, and just spending as much time outdoors as possible. We sat down with her and asked her a few questions so can get to know her better before you meet her at camp this summer!

Question: What is your role at camp this summer?

Answer: I am the Staff Director this summer! I will specifically be over the the spiritual and relational side of things for our women on summer staff – meaning I get to spend my summer loving on and pouring into our incredible women on staff. I also we be working on recruiting our next round of summer staff members for 2020!

Question: If you could write any kind of book, what would it be about?

Answer: I think I would want to write a book about a murder mystery – huge Criminal Minds fan so probably something like that. OR a cookbook, I really like making new food combinations and trying new things like that.

Question: What do you love most about your job/what are you most excited for?

Answer: I love that I get the opportunity to minister to and love on our staff. Back when I was on summer staff, there was a director (Sarah Wilson) that took the time to really get to know me. She loved me so well that summer, it gave me a passion to do the same one day. I am so thankful for what she taught me that summer and I hope to love our staff as well as she loved me!

Question: What’s your favorite story from camp?

Answer: One summer, I was leading a campout for our sibling campers. Unfortunately that night there was a huge lightning storm. My co-staffer and I still wanted to do something fun with the sibs so we “snuck them out” of the cabin (with the cabin staff of course) and lead them to the conference rooms where we had a fire made out of tissue paper and flashlights, and homemade oven-roasted s’mores waiting for them. We had so much fun running around the conference room, eating and “camping out”. It was one of the best make lemonade out of lemons situations!

Question: What’s your favorite part of camp?

Answer: I think my favorite part of camp is the lasting relationships and community it provides. Some of my closest friends I have met at camp and I am so thankful for the environment Barnabas has. Regardless if it is staff, campers or missionaries it is undeniable that Christ-centered friendships are formed and that is so cool to me.

Question: Why did you decide to do the work you’re doing now?

Answer: Honestly, since I was younger, it had always been my dream to be on Full Time Staff at Barnabas. As I got older, I started to look at different options and paths for my future and even got accepted to grad school out of state. However, second semester of my senior year, the Lord opened the door for my to work at Barnabas. After a ton of prayer, I felt that this was where God was leading me.

Question: What’s your favorite camp song?

Answer: I love the JOY song… the one where everyone separates into three sections and they all have different parts. One section goes “Joy, joy, joy oh there’s joy” and another one goes “J is for Jesus, O is for others, and y-i-i-i is for you and you and you and you” and the last one goes “WAAAAAA, WA WA WA WA WAAAA, WA WA WA WA WA, WA WA WA WA WAAAAA”.

Question: What’s one thing people should know about you?

Answer: One time I accidentally ran into the Raiders. Some would say we are friends now.

Question: If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with all your extra time?

Answer: This may be cliché but I would probably travel. I would have so much time to see the world! God created so many cool places that I want to see, but don’t have the time. So probably that.

Question: What’s your go-to song when you’re chanted up to sing?

Answer: This is a hard one. I have a few key ones that I have in my pocket to keep people on their toes. One being Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (had to sing that one for choir in middle school so some would say I a pro at it), Only Time by Enya OR if I got chanted up with a friend, Bring Me to Life by Evanescence (it’s not a phase, it’s a way of life).