COUNSELOR IN TRAINING (GR. 9)
Program Options
About The CIT Program
Our Counsellor in Training (CIT) Program is for the Grade 9 campers who are ready to step up as counsellors or instructors by shadowing head staff, running multiple camp events, building a personal project, and more! The CIT Program is meant to lead the transition from child and camper to young adult and staff member. The program is the perfect blend of tackling camp challenges, gaining leadership experience, and learning conflict resolution, all while at the same time enjoying the fun of being a camper.
All CITs will receive a Certificate of Completion, professional references, and a Director’s review. The CIT training program is a great gateway to becoming a staff member, or as experience for future job opportunities. CITs who demonstrate particular leadership and passion in STEAM will even be considered for future job opportunities at the STEAM Project!
*Earn up to 30 Community Service Hours
Goals
Inspire Younger Campers
Be Part Of A Team
Gain Leadership & Experience
Develop Your Skills
Goals
Inspire Younger Campers
Be Part Of A Team
Gain Leadership & Experience
Develop Your Skills
A Typical Day
CITs will work within their cabin groups alongside counsellors and instructors to deal with various camp challenges involving campers. They are also responsible for assisting, teaching, and planning camp-wide events and/or working on their own personal projects.
CITs will also have the opportunity to partake in technical workshops to develop their skills in woodworking, 3D printing, and design, and more! Further skills are also developed in an offsite camp trip with their fellow CITs!
Role & Responsibilities
- Greet, interact and work with younger campers
- Assist counsellors with cabin groups
- Lead lessons in different activity areas & teach younger campers new skills
- Participate in leadership training sessions that focus on leadership theory to use with campers
- Plan and develop your own specialized project based on your interests and present at the end of the month
“
The CIT Program has definitely taught me to be a more outgoing and friendly person, and that’s helped me alot because I’m usually quiet. My favourite memory would probably be from the first cabin group I got paired with as a CIT. On the last day, they made me a little charm so that was really special to me.
My Personal Project was a V8 engine that I 3D printed. It had 8 cylinders, 4 on each side with pistons on each side, that moved like an actual engine!”
Jedidiah
“
Being a CIT is really cool and I found it really fun! My favourite part would be planning camp-wide challenges and activities for everyone – I even created my own superhero scavenger hunt for Spirit Day!
For my personal project, I’m really into psychology, so I built a 3D brain! The inside is made up of circuits with LEDs that light up different areas of the brain. I labelled the different parts of the brain with colours, and it’s meant to show how colours can stimulate different psychological reactions in the brain.”
Tayma
“
Through the CIT program, I learned a lot of leadership skills – especially how to talk to people and manage different age groups. If you’re nervous about becoming a leader, don’t be! The instructors coach you through it and they give you a lot of guidance.
I like building RC (remote control) vehicles. I’m really interested in transportation and renewable in general. For my personal project, I built a remote control car powered by an Arduino and Bluetooth controller.”
Jayden
“
Working with kids has been a great learning experience. I’ve learned a lot about conflict resolution.
For my personal project, they told me to think about a problem I had that I could build a solution for. My family was going on vacation, and our indoor potted plants were going to die if we didn’t water them. I thought, “if you could detect how dry or moist the soil is, can you water it based on that?” So I built a self-watering plant system!”
Atiksh
Personal Project
The CIT program at The STEAM Project also requires our CITs to execute their own personal project with a chosen special focus. Over the course of the month that they get to be here, the CITs will be given time, tools, and software to brainstorm, develop and build a specialized project of their choice based on their experience.
CIT’s personal projects will allow them to collaborate with instructors to build their project from scratch, as well as more time to master technical skills that will be used over their time at camp. Encouraging and giving CITs the ability to pursue personal projects encourages them to develop their passions and interests while refining their technical skills.
A Look at our CIT Program
Application Process
Step 1: Camp Application
Fill out the CIT application form here.
Step 2: CIT Meeting
We will contact the CIT applicant to arrange a meeting. In the meeting, we will determine if the CIT applicant meets the selection criteria (please see below FAQ for more details)
Returning campers (have attended our programs before) will have the option for a virtual meeting. New campers (have not attended any of our programs before) are required to do an in-person meeting to better evaluate their suitability for this program.
FAQ
What are the CIT selection criteria?
What we look for when considering CIT program candidates
- Ability to work in a cooperative environment with a general respect of fellow campers and staff
- Capacity to follow policies and rules with a positive and flexible attitude
- Activity and skill involvement, over energetic presence
- Leadership potential (in general or through our Senior Leaders program)
- Recognition by camp instructor, unit heads and directors of involvement in all aspects of our camp program.
- Support of camp, and its philosophy.
How does the final evaluation work?
Throughout the summer, staff will give the CIT coordinator feedback that will be reviewed with CITs regularly. At the end of the program, a final evaluation summary including the CIT coordinator’s observations will be available. This evaluation can be used as a reference when applying for future jobs.
Is there a 2-week CIT program?
We ask that all CITs make the commitment to the program for at least 2 sessions (4 weeks total) to receive a fair and full evaluation.
Can I just apply to be a staff member?
It is very difficult for high school students to become staff members without completing the CIT program. Campers that have successfully completed the CIT program have priority consideration to be hired as future staff.
My child did Senior Leaders program last year. What's different about the CIT program?
CITs are given more leadership opportunities than our senior leaders campers. Senior leaders spend a majority of their camp day as a regular camper, and participate in leadership activities for a portion of each day. CITs will be working on leadership training and activities all day long. They also have the opportunity to work on a personal project with direct mentorship from our staff.
Campers that completed the senior leader program have a higher likelihood of being accepted to our CIT program.
