Staff Profile: Leah “Smax” Crum

Leah is heading into her tenth summer at Pine Cove—yep, a whole decade of camp life! She’s grown up with camp and grown because of it, and in this interview, she shares some of the many lessons, laughs, and life changing moments she’s experienced along the way. Hear about her many skit appearances, her ever growing plant collection, her life as a tiny-house resident, and why Crier Creek will always have her heart.

What originally led you to work at Pine Cove?

I’m originally from Lafayette, Indiana, and went to school at Purdue, so where I’m from, summer camp wasn’t really a thing. We had church camp, but Pine Cove felt wildly different from anything I grew up knowing. My best friend in college, Mary, had worked at a family camp for Young Life before finding out about Crier Creek, where she worked in 2015. She came back that summer with the classic post-camp reaction—she couldn’t stop talking about it. Honestly, I was annoyed. I wanted her to stop talking about camp.

But she was persistent, which I’m now so thankful for, and eventually got me to apply. Honestly, part of me applied just so she’d stop talking to me about camp! So, I applied and had an interview on campus. It really wasn’t until I got the offer call that I felt my heart actually get excited. I thought, “Okay, wait a minute. This is what I want to do, and I’m excited about this, even if I still don’t know what it looks like.” That’s when I said yes, and I worked my first summer in 2016.

How did you get your camp name?

My full camp name is “Smack in the Box.” Since my best friend was working at camp, she knew the questions to ask. Before working at camp, I had led Wyldlife, which is middle school Young Life, in college. Someone asked me for a Wyldlife story, so I told a story about going to lunch at the middle school. We were playing soccer in the gym, and one of my girls was on the opposite team, 10 feet in front of me. She kicked the ball and it smacked me in the face. And so that’s where we get “Smack.”

Then my friend asked if I’d ever woken up in a weird position, which was a very pointed question. When I was little, maybe four years old, we had gotten home late from something. I showered, wrapped up in my towel, and accidentally fell asleep halfway on my bed before putting on my pajamas. I stayed asleep, fell off my bed, and rolled underneath it. When I woke up, I said it felt like I had woken up in a box. My parents found me after I cried and yelled for help. So “Smack in the Box” is my camp name.

What do you love about working at Crier Creek?

My favorite part about Crier Creek is the variety of families. You can go from holding a young baby at a meal to running around with elementary-aged kids an hour later, and then sitting down with a mom for an intentional, meaningful conversation just two hours after that. You never know what you’re going to experience in one day at family camp. This will be my 10th summer with both the summer staff and the full-time team. Since we only have about 30 families and many of them return each year, I’ve known some of these families for 10 years, and that’s really special and sweet to keep those relationships going.

My favorite part about being a women’s director is what I like to call “big sister moments” with the girl staff. It’s about doing life together, getting to know them more each summer they return, and sharing those sweet little moments, whether it’s a conversation or a quiet interaction. I love seeing them grow as they come back year after year, and feeling like a big sister, watching the Lord work in and through them.

How has working at camp changed the way that you approach your faith?

I think it’s unique working in ministry. It’s cool that ministry and faith are not only what I, as Leah, am called to do and live out, but that it’s also my job. It can be tricky at times, but I’m really thankful for it. Even in the way we start meetings, chapel each week, or when we come together as a region, we are reminded of what we get to do and why we’re here. Then, there are also moments when I’m in front of staff, doing a devotional or sharing why we do family camp, why we share the Gospel, and why we do all these things. In all of these moments, I’m reminded of what Scripture teaches us about reflecting on our lives. It’s like a mirror, allowing us to pause and ask ourselves the important questions.

As I go about my day-to-day tasks, whether it’s planning for the summer, running ropes training during staff week, or being in a skit, no matter what we’re doing, we’re reminded that the Lord is with us. I get to live out the things I hope and dream for the staff, campers, and families we work with.

You mentioned that you attended Purdue. What did you study there?

My full major was Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs. What that means is that if I had continued down that path and gotten licensed, I would have been certified to teach children from birth through third grade. I loved it. When I went to college, I said that if I could find a job where I could just hold babies all day, that would be it. While I’m not quite there, family camp is pretty close. We love it when we have babies come to camp.

Do you have any unique hobbies or interests?

I do really love pickleball. I know that is a classic family camp answer, but I love playing pickleball. In the last year or so, I have also really enjoyed buying plants. I have 11 or 12 plants now, though I never thought I would be a plant person. My sisters were always plant people, and I never thought that I would become one too, but I love my plants. I get really excited when they grow a new leaf.

Do you have a favorite skit character that you’ve gotten to play?

I would say my most common or most repeated skit character was Jean. She wore big jeans, a sequin-type shirt, and had big hair. Jean was a very shy, awkward, bashful character in some skits. In most skits, she was probably the hero, as she usually has to overcome some fear to save the day. The way our dining hall, White Tail, used to be before the remodel was that we had an attic with a barn door along the side. Part of the ceiling was above us, and part of it was below us. We would climb up into the attic at the beginning of breakfast, and it would be me and two other staffers up there. We’d eat breakfast, and then at some point during the week, one of the days, I would rappel down out of the barn door and appear as Jean to sneak up on the bad guy or whatever the scenario was.

Once a week, someone would rappel down, and most of the time, it was me because I’m small, so that was a lot of fun. One of the times, the skit had only bad guys. Every character that was introduced was a bad guy. I was Jean, but I wasn’t good at being bad, so eventually, I turned good and saved camp. That’s a pretty good example of one of Jean’s most common skits!

What does your ideal day off look like?

Last summer, most Saturdays or weekends, I would follow a pretty consistent routine. After closing meeting, I’d go home to my tiny home, pack up a bit, maybe start some laundry, do something for a little while, and then drive back to College Station. Most Saturdays, I’d get there just in time to meet my roommate Amber, either at the house or by picking her up. We’d head to the neighborhood pool and stay there until we were tired of the sun, sometimes grabbing coffee on the way home. We’d pick a movie and both take naps on the couch while it played, only waking up when it was time for dinner. Then, I’d drive back on Sunday.

Similarly, on Tuesdays, I’d visit a family I know in Columbus who has a pool. We’d meet up with some of the other women’s directors at the pool and sometimes grab coffee from Latte, a great coffee shop. Afterward, I’d head back to my tiny home, watch a movie, and enjoy a very chill rest of the day.

Did you say that you live in a tiny house?

Since we all office and live in College Station for most of the year, we move to camp for the three-ish months of summer. The camp directors have a director house, but the men’s and women’s directors each have tiny homes that meet all our needs for the summer. They have a room, bathroom, little kitchen, and living room. I’ve been in my tiny home since 2020, and each year, I’ve made it a little more homey. My favorite purchase for the tiny home has been a rug. Never thought I would enjoy a rug as much as I enjoy the one in my tiny home. I also bring all my plants with me. I’ve gotten more plants since last summer, so packing them all up will be interesting, but I’ll do my best to bring them all back to my tiny home. It’s sweet. There are pros and cons to moving to camp. I miss my roommates, but I really love my tiny home. so I bring all my coffee gear and make a pour-over every morning. It’s a good setup.

What has the Lord been teaching you lately?

This year, I feel like I’m learning a lot about myself, both through lessons I was already sure of and through new opportunities to relearn those lessons in different situations or on a deeper level. One theme that’s stood out to me is the importance of constant and honest prayer. I think the passage I’ve returned to the most this year is Psalm 19. The whole psalm paints us a picture of giving glory and praise to God, being in His word and knowing his truth, and then my confession and repentance and forgiveness. And so if my words are the words in my mouth and the meditation of my heart, if I’m doing those three things, then that is just a good model to have words and thoughts that are acceptable to God. And so that has been a psalm that I have been reminding myself of, that the Lord is continuing to teach me what it looks like for my words and my thoughts to be acceptable to him and not of this world.

The fact that the psalm ends with that verse is such a cool summary. When you think about that verse or pray it, you have to ask yourself, “What does it look like for my words and meditations to be acceptable in God’s sight?” The entire psalm paints a picture of giving glory and praise to God, being in His word, knowing His truth, and then engaging in confession, repentance, and forgiveness. If my words and thoughts align with those three things, it’s a good model for having words and thoughts that are acceptable to God. That psalm has been effective in reminding me that the Lord is continuing to teach me what it truly looks like for my words and thoughts to be acceptable to Him and not shaped by this world.

What is your prayer for this upcoming summer of ministry?

My prayer every summer, especially for my girl staff, but also for families, myself, and everyone involved, is that they would learn more about who God is. That we learn more about His character, His goodness, and our identities in Christ. If they walk out of this summer knowing more of who God is and who He says they are, that’s the biggest thing I care about for my girl staff. Yes, we want them to learn the cheers, lead a good Bible study, work hard, and have grit. Those are all important, but what I put at the top of the list is that I want them to know more of who God is and who they are in light of Him. Of course, I would also want that for our families, campers, and myself. This summer especially, I want to walk away knowing more of who He is and more of who I am in light of Him.