CIT

A CIT, or counselor in training, is a person who is at camp the year between his Senior Camper year and his first year as a counselor. CITs stay in different cabins in Lower Camp and sometimes Upper Camp with another counselor. During their summer CITs learn how to be counselors at Birch Rock and learn to be comfortable working with children. The leadership skills that they start to learn as senior campers is carried foward to a more hands on approach working with children. As a senior camper they learn self-leadership and then as a CIT they learn leadership of others. This includes learning how to teach activities, have a cabin to look after, and training to be a life guard, and working on communication skills. The team work skill is really driven home in the CIT program as the camp gives the CITs a lot of tasks around camp like washing dishes and sweeping the driveway. Working hard as a team better prepares them to truly move into the staff ranks and to work past any teasing that may have happened during their camper summers growing up together.

Years ago, CITs were not assigned to individual cabins, they instead stayed in Pete's Palace. Pete's is still where the CIT plaques, which are made by them, are put up every year. CIT's can not earn badges but from time to time a CIT will swim his Whale if he was unable to his Senior Camper year. When this happens the time is put up on a plaque in Pete's.