Meet Amara!
Hi, my name is Amara and I just finished my first year at Gonzaga University! I am an English major but when I’m not reading I love to be in or as close to the ocean as possible. I attended Maui Surfer Girls for the first time a couple of years ago and am unbelievably excited to come back this year as a CIT! I know that the second I’m back I’ll be with family; MSG is such an accepting and kind environment, it’s something that makes saying goodbye almost impossible.
I will never forget the amazing people I was able to meet during my time there or the good times we shared! One of my favorite memories of camp was on the Fourth of July we all hiked up this large hill by camp. Once at the top, the sun had set and we were able to watch the entire Lahaina fireworks show with the best view and the best people. I’m really looking forward to coming back to camp this year so I can be a part of the MSG family again and help welcome all the new faces to the crew!
Meet Anna Sophia!
I’m Anna Sophia. I’m from Little Rock, Arkansas, and I’m finishing my first year as a biology pre-vet major and music minor at the University of Central Arkansas. I’ve worked at Hillcrest animal hospital (a very well known vet clinic in arkansas) for four years and I love every minute of it. Music means a lot to me, as I’ve been playing piano since I was four and singing for as long as I can remember. My senior year of high school, I got to perform with my choir at Carnegie hall, which was such an incredible and humbling experience! I also played upright bass, flute, and sang vocals in my high school jazz band for three years. I played guitar on the side for a couple of years, and I’ve played flute since sixth grade. Now, at the University of Central Arkansas, I play flute in marching band and concert band, and I’m in the Concert choir. Outside of music and veterinary stuff, I absolutely love being outdoors! When it comes to sports, I played tennis for a couple of years and still love it, I’ll always be down for a volleyball game, and indoor rock climbing is one of my favorite things to do when I have free time! I used to bike ride often, and I’m always up for a hike.
I went to Maui for the first time last summer, when I went with my mom to a Maui surfer girls camp as a post-graduation celebration. It was the greatest summer of my life. I’ve always seen myself as a happy person, but in Maui, I was happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I felt totally in my element and just loved getting to connect with nature and the waves. I’ve never been surfing before that, so it was an incredible and life changing experience for me. As a CIT, I’ll help other girls to experience the sense of belonging and achievement as I did last summer. I will welcome them and be there for them. I can’t wait to show them how much they can accomplish when they set their minds to it! I’m so honored to have been invited to not only return, but in fact return as a CIT to encourage and cheer on others going through the journey I went through last year!
Click here to meet Flora and Sophia, our other two CITs for 2019!
“Each of our 2019 CITs is chosen for having demonstrated leadership qualities at camp, received positive feedback by staff, and wrote an exceptional application,” shared Dustin, Maui Surfer Girls’ founder and director. “We’re looking forward to an excellent summer with these ladies serving as positive role models for our campers, and a great support to our staff.”
More about our CIT Program
The CIT program is a three week long leadership course, including a one week training program and two weeks of helping run our surf camps. Their responsibilities as a CIT include two important camp roles. They are a “cabin mama” for the 5 campers in their cabin. Additionally, they are a “beach captain” that helps assist their assigned surf instructor with loading boards on our vans and providing encouragement and coaching to the girls in their surf pods. It’s a big job, as the CITs are on both during the day and night with the campers.
The CIT program, which launched back in 2004, is also a great work experience to put on a resume or college application. Camp director Dustin has written several college application reference letters for past CITs. She’s proud to say that two past CITs (Molly Ashkenas and Kit Ramgopal) have both gone on to attend Stanford University! We are proud of every one of our campers and CITs, and each summer we are thrilled to welcome more incredible girls into our MSG family!