Counselor in Training

Last night we had our closing camp fire. Cabins handed out awards to campers as we danced and sang songs together one last time. Today counselors pack up all the bags into a somewhat organized collection to await pick up. As the campers leave we want it to be known that at Camp Krem, our staff works extremely hard to provide a unique life changing camping experience. The work of the staff is much like a human body. We all play different parts but still work as one with one mission. As counselors and staff we are the arms and legs that help camp move in a direction of fun and fulfilling experiences. Part of that body that should not be overlooked is the Counselor in Training, or CIT. A CIT is a high school aged student from surrounding high schools that volunteer one session to assist counselors in providing care for the campers. A CIT is always next to a counselor when all the ups and downs of camp happen. Most of the CITs come from Carondelet High School. Others come from Bishop and De La Salle. Most of these high schools require a certain amount of service hours over the course of the year and provide a list of summer opportunities for their students. On paper Camp Krem is just another name amongst the hundreds of other opportunities that exists for these high school students. Enough students have passed through Camp Krem over the last fifteen years to build a reputation that has spread through the halls of these schools. Often times CITs will come based on recommendations from previous years CITs not fully knowing what they are getting themselves into.

Here is a story written by Ally White, a first year CIT:

I love watching the campers relationships with counselors and other campers grow. On the first day of camp I noticed some campers isolating themselves; acting very shy around new faces. As camp went on they slowly became more comfortable with each other: campers would play games together, help each other on hikes, and talk as if they knew each other for years. Campers truly looked up to their older counselors. They would follow their counselors around like a little brother copies his older brother. These campers make friendships that they will never forget. Another amazing thing about camp is watching the campers participate in activities that they love. One of my campers never really seemed to be enjoying himself and always wanted to be doing another activity, but the second he stepped foot in the pool I saw a smile on his face that I had never seen before. His smile was beaming and he was lost in his own laughter. He absolutely loved swimming and seeing him so happy was an amazing sight. It showed me the importance of finding something I loved to do, letting go and just simply enjoying the good things in life.