What is a CIT? – Highlighting Our Counselor In Training Program

Wednesday, March 12th, 2025

 

We love our CITs!

Every year a group of our oldest campers step up as key mentors, leaders, and energizers within the Camp Birch Hill community. Summer at camp simply would not be the same without them!

 

So What Is a CIT?

C.I.T. stands for “Counselor In Training”. It is a common acronym used by camps all over the world to reference the oldest campers in a session. At Camp Birch Hill, our CIT program was created to serve a few key purposes:

1. To serve as a capstone experience. We want a summer spent in our CIT program to feel like a celebration. Many of our CITs are campers who have come back each summer and are really excited to finally reach this milestone. We find that as they grow and enter High School, they often begin looking for new ways to connect and explore while spending the summer with us. They also want to help give younger campers some of the experiences they had: a piggyback ride up the hill from Cove, a painted up “zombie” to run from during Evening Program, or a friend they can trust if they are having a hard day.

We find this is true even for those who have never been to Birch Hill before, but that are old enough to join our CIT program. They are looking to take on more responsibilities than younger campers and as a result enjoy more unique privileges. With this in mind, each session we try to set our CITs up with memorable CIT-only bonding experiences (campfires, games, trips off camp, etc.) as well as mentoring and counselor support opportunities to encourage the next generation. 

2. To form a bridge between the camper and counselor experience. This is in response to the large number of campers who express interest in learning about the counselor role and want to step up as leaders. To help give our oldest campers some experience and perspective, every CIT will be assigned to a younger cabin during their session. They spend extra time getting to know those campers and will even partner with one of their counselors for an overnight sleepover to get the experience of supporting a cabin. Every CIT will also spend one activity day “shadowing” a counselor through all of their activities. It’s a time to connect with a current counselor and to support them in teaching a lesson or leading an activity.

However it is worth being said, that though we do end up hiring many of our former CITs who apply to be counselors as adults, there is no requirement that a CIT must desire to be a counselor. We believe each of these experiences is rewarding on its own and the leadership practice can apply well to other facets of life.

 

How do I enroll someone as a CIT?

 There is no additional application for the CIT program; simply enroll as usual and Camp Birch Hill will determine and place eligible campers accordingly. Generally speaking, campers are enrolled as CITs if they will be 15 years old by the start of the camp season. As a result, they are typically rising 10th graders. We still accept bunk requests for CITs and will also take into consideration requests to consider a camper for the program before their 15th birthday. However we ask for your patience as we try to stick to our system as much as possible to keep the process fair and prioritize what will be best for the overall camp community in each decision.

Each year we also have a number of applications for campers to return for a 2nd or 3rd CIT year. We deeply appreciate the love for camp and the leadership shown by our returning CITs. When assessing these applications, we look for people who were excellent role models and brought a positive attitude throughout their first CIT summer.

 

Is it worth it?

Year after year, decade after decade, when former campers talk to us about their experience at camp, they often reference how special their time as a CIT was. Maybe it’s the close relationships that are formed with other people in their CIT year, maybe it’s the experience of having younger people look up to you as a role model, or maybe sometimes it’s just getting to go on the overnight trip off camp. We like to think it’s a combination of all the above and much more. Whatever it is, we love and appreciate all of our CITs over the years who have helped make Camp Birch Hill feel like a “Home Away From Home” for everyone.