Junior Leaders Ages 14-15
NEW in 2025
Junior Leaders is a new program at Camp Y-Owasco designed to help start the leadership experiences at Camp a year sooner! Junior Leaders can now be seen as one of the first stepping stones to becoming a camp counselor and growing out of the traditional camper role. Although Junior Leaders will still participate in all the fun and exciting programs that make camp magical, it is also combined with their own programs that foster responsibility, community, and leadership.
LIT
Leaders in Training- Ages 15-16
LIT is a 3-week Resident Camp program.
Teens experience leadership and learn outdoor living skills, & group skills while experiencing adventure along the way.
LIT can be seen as the first step to becoming a camp counselor & transitioning out of the traditional camper role.
Their counselors will challenge LIT campers with problems to solve, tasks to complete, and a service opportunity.
While this is a fun and engaging program for teens, education and leadership are the primary focus of the LIT program.
CIT
Counselor in Training- Ages 16-17
Youth who take our 3-week CIT program should not only want to improve their leadership skills but also want to be a camp counselor.
Teens in this program will be taught leadership, outdoor living, and recreational programming skills, instruction techniques, and childcare skills through group challenges and practical experience.
CITs are role models for the younger campers, and while they themselves are still campers, they have opportunities to be seen as assistant counselors during their third week.
At the end of the session, CITs are evaluated for their performance in the program and are given a recommendation as to whether the camp administration should hire them next year. For youth who eventually want to be Y-Owasco staff, CIT gives them the benefits of learning to interview, learning our procedures, and experiencing much of what a counselor does firsthand before applying for the job.
CITs who do well and interview well may be hired when they are 17 years old, a year before people who do not participate in a CIT program.
