The CIT Program
The Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Program is a co-ed, 2-week program for campers entering 10th-12th grades. It runs during our 2 week sessions: Session 3, 4, and 5, and offers a specialized program that seeks to develop leadership and interpersonal skills that are essential to working with children at summer camp. Not all CIT’s have their sights set on becoming Mountain Camp Counselors in the future, but we find that all CIT’s gain something valuable from the program.
The CIT program has a great balance of responsibility and fun, and is run by our four hand-picked CIT Coordinators. The program includes bonding exercises and team building activities that help the CIT’s learn to work collaboratively and set goals. As our oldest campers, the CIT’s become natural leaders at camp, who set the standards of silliness, enthusiasm, creativity, and fun.
The CIT’s have a few different activities that they plan and execute during the session. They run their own Evening Program and Campfire as well as the age-group dances. The Blazer Activity is something they create from scratch for our youngest campers, the Blazers, which usually entails an odyssey of activities all over camp brought together by a fun storyline.
The CIT’s are also assigned to help our Blazer cabins during certain times during the week. During these times, they get to work directly with the youngest campers, under the supervision of our counselors, as a way to help them practice the interpersonal skills needed to work with kids.
In addition to these extra responsibilities, the CIT’s also have a number of specialized trips during the session. They do two overnight backpacking trips as well as an all day River Rafting trip on the South Fork of the American River. Check out the latest video from the CIT Program, the Session 4 CIT overnight trip to Bassi Falls.
