Through her work at the KidCity Children’s Museum and the Psychology Cognitive Development Lab, Cameron Bourassa ’25 discovered a powerful intersection between STEM and early childhood development. Her campus employment journey has inspired her to pursue a medical career in pediatrics.
Working at KidCity has completely changed the trajectory of my professional career. Going into Wesleyan as a freshman, I knew that I loved neuroscience and that I wanted to go into science or medicine, but had no clue which specialty. Then, in my freshman fall, I got a work study job at KidCity and I fell in love with my work environment. The museum is a place of pure joy for the families who go there and I immediately noticed that I was happier on the days that I went into work. I loved being around the families and seeing the kids just be kids! I realized that I wanted to work with children and ended up joining the Wesleyan Cognitive Development Lab, a psychology research lab that works directly with children. After combining my love of science and my desire to work with kids, I knew that I chose the right path. I now plan to apply to medical school and hope to work in pediatrics. If I didn’t start working at KidCity as a freshman, I never would have discovered my passion!
KidCity is mostly a place for the community to gather and have fun, but other really cool things have happened there that I have gotten to experience. During one of my shifts, a movie was shot in some of the exhibits! I got to meet the actors and get a behind the scenes look on how a movie is made.
My other memorable experience is the opportunity to meet so many new people at KidCity. I had the honor of being promoted to Student Manager, so one of my tasks is training new Museum Floor Staff. This gives me the opportunity to become friends with a lot of locals and other Wesleyan students that I never would have interacted with otherwise. I even got to train a professional rugby player (which is really exciting since I play Rugby at Wesleyan)! Shoutout to Angel!
Working at KidCity makes balancing my job with other activities really easy! Even though it is an off-campus job, my supervisors understand that I am a college student and let me prioritize school when I need to. They take into account class schedules and the uncertainty of the Drop/Add period when creating shifts. It is important to find a balance between school, work, and other activities. On top of working at KidCity, I am a captain of the Wesleyan Women’s Rugby team and am a research assistant in the Cognitive Development Lab. These commitments are really important to me and I don’t let work take over. During semesters where I have less commitments, I put more hours in at KidCity. When I have a very busy semester academically, I make sure to tell my supervisors that I can’t work as much. They are always very understanding!
Find a campus job that enhances your college experience! That looks very different for everyone, and that’s okay! I know I found the right campus job when going to work didn’t feel like “work.” Working at KidCity is a fulfilling job that actually gives me a nice mental break when I’ve been too focused on academics. For some people, a fast-paced job is perfect for this and for others a desk job is best. Find what’s best for you!
How has your campus job helped you build connections or networks within the university or broader community?
While at college, I noticed it is really easy to get trapped in a “bubble” where you are only interacting with your classmates and professors. Working at KidCity gave me a unique opportunity to break away from campus and interact with the community. People from all over the country travel to CT to bring their kids to KidCity. It is an amazing opportunity to meet people from all over and to see people from all different communities come together in one shared space.
Cameron was nominated for the 2025 Exceptional Student Employee of the Year Award by her supervisor Sioux Wimler, the Kidcity Children’s Museum Manager. Read the nomination below:
Cameron is a paragon of what is required to create a place of safety, hospitality and fun at Kidcity: a diligent attention to detail alongside a pleasant manner and lively spirit.
Cam began working for us as a freshman and was consistently on-time, willing to help no matter how unpleasant a task, and calm and thoughtful when handling challenging situations.
Cam is courteous and friendly, but also conveys a sense of gravitas, which matters greatly at the museum. She quickly mastered the floor staff duties and was promoted to front desk early in her tenure, checking in visitors, fielding phone calls and other visitor queries, and resolving issues for both other staff and guests from all over the world.
After little more than a year, Cam demonstrated such maturity, competence and emotional intelligence that she was soon promoted to assistant manager. She now opens the building and front desk for the day and runs a busy day at the museum on her own with neither myself nor the director in attendance. I struggle to find older adults who can shoulder this complex weight, and Cam makes it look easy and fun.
She is an effective communicator, and her calm smile made her approachable to both visitors and other staff. She brings a warm pragmatism to the work, which combined with competence and thirst for a challenge helps her easily excel at Kidcity’s mission of making our visitors feel safe and loved.
The Kidcity Children’s Museum is an off-campus organization that partners with Wesleyan University Campus Employment through the federal work-study program.
Updated April 30, 2025.
