College student, YouTuber, and director of a student-run nonprofit organization at Temple University. This is John Marhold, a senior film major who has turned his aspirations into an income and pours his heart and soul into Camp Kesem, an organization that holds a special place in his heart.
Marhold has been a part of Camp Kesem since his freshman year at Temple, but his connection to the camp goes back to when he was 7 years old. Camp Kesem provides support to children and families who have a parent or guardian battling cancer. One of the main goals of Camp Kesem is to raise enough money throughout the school year to host a weeklong summer camp that is completely free for families.
“It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in college because I met so many great people,” Marhold said. “My favorite part is seeing all the pieces come together at the end, and seeing the kids happy. I see myself in those kids sometimes, and it makes me happy knowing that I can give back in a meaningful way.”
The campsite Kesem currently uses is the exact same one Marhold attended when he was younger. For him, this has made his experiences come full circle as he leaves college.
At Camp Kesem, everyone gets to choose a camp name. Marhold’s camp name is Billy Bob. It’s a silly name he thought of when he was 10, after he decided he didn’t want to be John. He says that his camp name doesn’t have too much meaning, but to him and his camp, that’s the whole point.
“It doesn’t matter what your identity is at home. You can come to camp, and you can be your new self, your best self,” said Marhold. “You can be anything you want to be. And I think that’s kind of the magical part of it. It really just ties back to camp being almost an escape from what’s going on back at home.”
In addition to his role as a director, Marhold produces YouTube videos to pay for his college tuition. On average, one minute of his videos takes about an hour to make, but his dedication doesn’t go unnoticed, as his account, @USPresidentsPlay, has accrued 291k subscribers within the last three years.
For Marhold, creating videos now is about more than just views and likes. It allows him to use some of the skills his film major has taught him and allows him to use his imagination to create funny skits for others to laugh at.
“What I really tried to rely on was the feeling of nostalgia,” Marhold said. “Everyone has memories of playing the Wii. So really it’s just like the presidents are an exaggerated version of myself and my friends and how we talk to each other when we play video games.”
Just like in Camp Kesem, Marhold enjoys seeing others happy and having a space for laughter and positivity. At the end of the day, when everything between being the director of Camp Kesem, his school work, and his YouTube channel comes together, it’s all very satisfying and fulfilling for him.