The 2016 Staff


Katrina Bitar has been the director of the St. Nicholas Camping Program since 2003.  She has been working in youth ministry for almost 20 years, and loves standing alongside young people as they discover their true selves in Christ.  When she isn't at Winter or Summer Camp, she is immersed in her full-time gig directing the Youth Equipped to Serve (YES) Program of FOCUS North America.  Every summer, she looks forward to building community with the staff and campers and living, together, on earth as it is in Heaven.  She can't wait to welcome new and seasoned campers to join us in exploring our thme this summer:  A Labor of Love!



Noor Abdo is from Diamond Bar, CA. She is currently studying pharmaceutical sciences and minoring in philosophy at UC Irvine. Noor will be returning as a counselor and is super excited to be on staff again! Noor's favorite activities include reading, skiing down the terrain of Southern California, listening to music, and being outside to enjoy the fresh air. She can't wait to meet her campers!



Simone Assaley is a crazy, impulse shopper from Charleston, WV.  She is going to be a senior at Roanoke College, where she studies Economics and Math. She will be returning as a counselor, and she's so pumped to eat goldfish during afternoon snack time. Simone's favorite things to do are singing in the car (Beyoncé is queen), checking her steps for the day on Fitbit, crying because puppies are really cute, and watching Facebook videos for hours. 



Elias Bahou is a first year college student at San Diego Miramar College and just moved to California a couple years ago. This is his first year as a summer counselor at St. Nick’s and has been going to church camps since he was 7. He served as a winter camp counselor this year and loved what he saw. He is looking forward to being a part of the family and growing with them in faith!



Kyra Buleza is in her second year of graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh and she is getting her master's degree in Social Work. She hopes to work at a children's hospital in the future to help kids and their families with many of their needs. In her spare time, Kyra enjoys singing very loudly in her car, impulsively buying way too much stuff at Target and yelling out the wrong (or occasionally right) answers while watching Jeopardy! with her grandma. Kyra is going to be a counselor this summer and has never been to Camp St. Nicholas before! She can't wait to laugh a lot and make memories with the other campers and staff!



Jack Corbin is a professional altar boy from Yorba Linda, CA.  He is going into his second year at Santiago Canyon College. This year, Jack will be a counselor. He hopes to redeem himself, and the rest of CSN staff, by winning the camper-counselor two towers challenge. In his spare time, you can find Jack watching his 14th episode of friends(in a row), playing basketball, cuddling his dog, and practicing chanting, specifically tone 6. 



Jacob Corbin is excited to serve as the Head Male Counselor and Afternoon Program Director! After recently completing his Bachelors in Human Development from UC San Diego, he is excited to spend another summer fully immersed in a community that he loves and cherishes. He hopes to offer support while fostering an entertaining, happy, and exciting program to the campers, all while supporting his fellow staff members. Jacob cannot wait to reunite with his old friends and meet new ones :) 



Catherine Dillon is a Junior at Millersville University pursuing her dream of being a Special Educator. Catherine, who is from Maryland, spends most of her time hiking with her sassy hound dog, Duke. She is beyond excited to return to CSN to be a counselor and hopes campers are ready to spend this summer learning about God and his beautiful world. She is most excited to scream songs around the campfire and hang out with campers. Get ready for the coolest summer yet!



Haley Hammers is a Chapman University student and one of the infirmary administrators. During the school year, she is a Marketing intern and fashion show event coordinator and is ecstatic about graduating early this December!  She loves pugs in sweaters, inspirational quotes, vegetable smoothies, babies, the color sage green, and anything from Anthropologie. She is most looking forward to being on staff because every year she has learned how to be a more compassionate person in a new dimension that never even occured to her.



Victoria Housemeyer is from Loveland, Ohio. She goes to school at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio where she studies psychology and hopes to be a therapist one day. Some of her hobbies include exploring nature and drinking a good cup of coffee. She's so pumped to get to know everyone and get closer to God together!



Joanna Howell was born in Santa Clara, California and grew up with five older siblings in San Jose until the age of 9 when her family moved to Angels Camp, California. After graduating from her high school in Angels Camp she plans to move back to her roots in San Jose and to attend West Valley Junior College. Joanna aspires to go into social work and to one day become a foster parent and mentor troubled teens. Joanna applied for the counselor position at Camp St. Nicholas and is excited to work with the staff for the first time. The community at Camp St. Nicholas has always been so loving and full of the presence of God. Joanna loves working with children and teens and feels blessed to have the opportunity to be a counselor this summer!



Marcus Kinan is a currently a student who will be going into his sophomore year of college. He has lived in Yorba Linda California since the day he was born. This will be his second year being a counselor and he could not be more excited to spend his summer anywhere else. He can not wait to reunite with his campers and friends from last year and is looking forward to creating new relationships this summer. 



JP Kouri has been coming to camp St. Nicks for longer than he can remember and can’t wait to come back for another year. He will be testing his skills as Evening Program director hoping he can compete with the greats who were before him. He will be starting his Sophomore year at Cal State Long Beach as a film major in the fall. Most of his time is spent taking pictures, whether at music festivals with his favorite bands or late night adventures, and the rest of his time is spent editing those photos and planning his next shoots. He can’t wait to be apart of staff this year where he will be able to interact with all of the campers.



Christine Louis has been attending camp for over 10 years and this is her first year as a camp counselor. She will be going into her sophomore year at UC Irvine and is majoring in biological sciences, hoping to one day become a doctor. She loves to travel, read, play sports, and give back to her community as she is an active volunteer at the UCI Medical Center. She can’t wait to meet her campers and have an unforgettable summer!  



Michelle Nicola is the Assistant Director at Camp St. Nicholas. She is looking forward to the summer and all the opportunities for love and growth that it holds.    During the year she is an 8th grade history teacher in the Bay Area.  Michelle loves being outdoors, practicing yoga, playing with her niece and traveling as much as possible!  She is ready for school to be out so camp can start! 



This will be Mary Pettygrove's second year as a counselor at Camp St Nicks. Mary will be studying Choral Music at USC starting in the fall. She loves to sing, read, cuddle with cats, eat soup, and go on adventures. She is incredibly excited to meet all her campers and to be up at camp and she feels like she should probably start exercising so she can actually make it up the hill.



Michael Safady is from Westlake Village, California. He will serve as a counselor. He is a student at Moorpark College and enjoys sports, physical activity, and playing games. Also, he likes leading discussions and teaching about topics he is interested in.



This is George Safar's 5th summer at Camp St. Nicholas, but his first on staff! George just graduated from Beverly Hills high school, and is incredibly excited to serve as a counselor this summer. CSN has given George so much over the last 5 years, and he wants nothing more than to begin giving back and serving the camp and campers with the love he has received through his experiences.



Taylor Salamone is a typical Orange County college student, who can't wait to serve as a counselor for the first time!! She loves her family and her church, but she might love camp more. When she's not busy with school or work, you can find her online shopping, attempting to dance, stuffing her face with chocolate or posting pictures of her dog on Instagram! While she's sad her furry BFF can't come to camp with her, she is so excited to meet all of her new camper friends and do the work of God!



Nick Salibi was born and raised in Santa Cruz. He will be attending Sonoma State University in the fall as a freshman. Nick has been a camper at Camp St. Nicks for four years and this will be his first year as a counselor! Nick is super excited to experience camp as a counselor and can not wait for the memories that will be created between him, his campers, and his co-counselors. Nick loves to play sports such as football, basketball, and volleyball. He also really enjoys playing cards, board games, and going on hikes. Things that you can expect from Nick is that he will always bring a positive attitude and will always put his campers and co-counselors before himself. 



Katya Soot is very excited to be back on staff this summer as head female counselor and morning program director! She is originally from the Pacific Northwest, but has lived in Boston for the past two years earning her master's degree in speech language pathology. She just graduated and is looking forward to spending part of her summer at CSN! When she is not hanging out with her friends Ben and Jerry, she spends her time being entertained by Michael Scott, Phoebe Buffet, and Kirk Gleason. Katya also enjoys long walks up to the cabins and patrolling afternoon program with loaded water guns. She is most looking forward to serving as a support to campers and counselors so they can make the most of their time at camp. 



Matthew Soot has been coming to Camp Saint Nicholas since he was seven years old. This will be his second year as a camp counselor, and he looks forward to spending his summer with outstanding staff and campers who help each other grow together in Christ. Camp has always been his favorite place and he cannot wait return to his second home! Matt is going into his junior year of college at Western Oregon University, where he is majoring in Exercise Science and earning a minor in Human Biology. In his spare time he can be found at the gym trying to lift things, as well as spending quality time with family and friends.



Sup people! I'm Trent. I'm a math teacher and a basketball coach. I love basketball, eating, and hanging with this girl I like. I want to come to camp to help people see Jesus, whether it's through me or someone else. That happens a lot at camp, I think.



Hannah Steele is a junior at West Chester University studying English Literature and Vocal Performance. However, she will be spending the upcoming school year in Ireland studying at the National University of Ireland Galway. Hannah spends most of her time reading Shakespeare and Tolkien and playing countless hours of Dragon Age. Hannah is so excited to be serving on staff at Camp Saint Nicholas again, and is ready with hugs and excitement for every camper! 



Christopher Stokich is a Senior at Grand Canyon University studying with a degree in Secondary English Education with a minor in Christian Studies. Calling St. George in Phoenix, Arizona home, Chris is coming to Camp St. Nicholas to be a Counselor for all three sessions. This will be his third session at Camp St. Nicholas as a counselor- he looks forward to spending time teaching campers about deepening their relationship with Christ and His church through archery, reflective cabin times, and some great adventures throughout the week. 



Ben Zhu is 18 years old and this will be his first year as a counselor at Camp St. Nicks. He has been a camper for 5 years. Ben was born in China and then came to America when he was 12 years old. He will be attending San Jose State University this fall as a freshman. Ben enjoys to be active and do things such as playing football, basketball, and hiking. Ben can not wait for what Camp St. Nicks has to offer this summer!