Home: CIT: Welcome to CIT

Welcome to CIT Winona!

By deciding to take part in Winona’s Counselor in Training program, you are following in the footsteps of many of camp’s greatest counselors. Winona has one of the largest and most comprehensive CIT programs in all of camping. Between 18 and 25 boys participate and usually 100 percent of the candidates finish the program successfully. About 80 percent return as full time staff the season after their CIT year. Winona’s program is structured to permit CIT graduates to become full time staff members without further training as assistant counselors.

When you arrive to the Shores on opening day, you will be embarking on a great adventure. Like any adventure; shooting the rips at Steep Falls, climbing at Acadia, winning the Agawam Six-A-Side, cantering on the back of Charleston, hiking the Knife’s Edge on Katadhin, or paddling the Allagash, CIT is hard work. Accepting Winona’s invitation means accepting new responsibilities. In CIT, you will learn a lot about yourself and how you handle different situations. However, much of the learning process will be done on your own. For the first time in your camping career, you will be asked to give entirely of yourself, and the recognition you receive will be much more subtle. The rewards do not come in the form of a red or gray banner, a merit pin or a JMG patch. Rather, they come from a smile from a camper who has just learned to roll a kayak for the first time, a high five from a peer for nailing the deep water back boarding, or a pat on the back from a Unit Director for a job well done in a tough situation. Counselors will help you, as will your Unit Directors and peers, but ultimately, the challenge of CIT lies in your hands. It can be a difficult challenge, but for a majority of graduates, it is the most rewarding experience Winona has to offer. In short, CIT will be exactly what you want it to be.

Be prepared to learn, be prepared to be challenged, be prepared to face new situations. Most importantly, be prepared to have fun. Living with lifelong friends, at the place where life exists as it should; how much better can it get? Ultimately, CIT is about discerning the difference between camper and counselor, and once you understand this difference, you will see why 80-90 percent of the staff return each year, and chances are, you will begin counting down the days to your first day as a staff member at Winona.