Counselor In Training

The CIT Program is designed for rising 11th graders who love camp, want more time with their peers, and are ready to take on real responsibility. CITs are not just “older campers.” Medolark’s program is a true leadership development experience — blending all the fun and freedom of camp with meaningful opportunities to mentor, support, and lead.

The 4-Week Commitment

Every CIT makes a four-week commitment. This structure gives them both the fun of camp with friends and the challenge of leadership.

Two Weeks in a Cabin with Friends
Just like campers, CITs live with their peers, participate classes they love, spend time at the waterfront, and enjoy the best of camp life. During this time, they will also support counselors with younger aged campers (ages 7 - 11) by sitting with younger cabins during breakfast and lunch.

Two Weeks with Younger Campers (Ages 7– 11)
CITs step into a mentoring role, living in cabins with younger campers. They help with daily routines (wake-up, meals, bedtime), provide support, and serve as role models. This is where the shift from camper to leader really begins. During this time, CITs will continue to spend time with their CIT peers in classes, at the waterfront, during free time and nights off of camp.

Daily Life as a CIT

CITs have six activities a day — a mix of personal choice, leadership, and shared cohort experience:

  • ✨ Choose Your Schedule (4 Activities/Day) — For the majority of the day (4 of 6 periods), CITs will explore passions just like a camper, taking activities like circus, candles, waterfront, or whatever skills they are interested in exploring.

  • 🎨 Assist in 1 Class/Day (1 Activity/Day) — CITs will assist a teacher in one activity per day such as pottery, candles, culinary, movie making, theater, or another studio needing extra support. They will learn the basics of classroom management and encourage younger campers to develop their skills as an artist, dancer, performer, cook, jeweler, or circus artist.

  • 🧠 CIT Ethics Seminar (1 Activity/Day) — A daily, college-style seminar where CITs discuss philosophy, leadership, and real-life situations at camp. Alumni rave this is one of the best things they’ve ever done at Medolark.

Leadership Beyond the Cabin

CITs are also trusted with essential camp duties a few times each week — supporting the post office, helping with camper phone calls, and assisting in the camp store. These responsibilities make them an active part of the team that keeps camp running. CITs will also support with some programming: putting on an all-camp evening activity and supporting with programming for the Two-Day Discovery, a weekend with prospective campers. These responsibilities will help CITs learn how to work as a team and deepen their leadership skills while overseeing the operational challenges of putting on a large-scale event.

Perks of Being a CIT

Along with leadership training and responsibility, CITs enjoy some special privileges:

  • 🌙 Nights off camp - 1 night/week: dinner in charming coastal towns like Camden and Rockalnd

  • 📱 Ability to bring their cell phone and use during off time

  • 🧠 Ethics seminar that’s consistently called life-changing

  • 💰 25% off tuition

Why the CIT Program Matters

Medolark needs its CITs. It’s about:

  • Becoming a true role model

  • Developing leadership, empathy, and responsibility

  • Creating a tight-knit cohort of future counselors

  • Preparing for the path toward Junior Counselor and Counselor roles

Ready to Step Up?

This is your chance to make camp even better — for yourself, for your friends, and for the campers who look up to you. By the end of the summer, CITs walk away with real leadership experience, deeper friendships, and a lasting impact on the Medolark community.

FAQs about the cit program

  • LIT (Leader in Training) was our former name for CIT. We changed the name back to Counselor in Training to emphasize that the program is about learning to work with kids and a path towards becoming a counselor at Medolark

  • Most CITs are 16 and entering 11th grade.

  • If your camper is 16 and entering 11th grade next year, they are only eligible to be a CIT. We do not have a camp-only experience for those older than 10th graders.

  • We need a 4 week commitment from our CITs, as we need time to onboard, train, develop and mentor them.

  • The CIT Ethics Seminar meets once a day for four weeks (about 15 sessions). It gives our Counselors-in-Training a foundation in ethical decision-making, critical thinking, and leadership.

    • Curriculum: CITs study seven classical and contemporary ethical frameworks — virtue ethics, deontology, consequentialism, feminist ethics of care, relative ethics, contractarianism, and interpersonal ethics — and apply them to real-world issues like poverty, respect, and environmental responsibility.

    • Skills gained: They learn to read critically, analyze arguments, and articulate their own views — skills that serve them well in leadership roles, at camp and beyond.

    • Benefits: Many alumni say the class gave them a leg up for college by sharpening discussion skills, offering “college-style” pointers, and giving them meaningful material to reference in applications, interviews, and future coursework.

    The seminar is discussion-based, neutral in tone, and designed to help CITs find their own voice while learning to see multiple perspectives. It’s a unique part of our program that sets them apart both as future counselors and as young adults preparing for the next step.