The University’s fifth annual two-week Summer Academy to Inspire Learning program kicked off on Aug. 2 as a group of local high school students experience a sampling of the college life and receive academic counseling from University faculty.
Started in 2006 by economics professors Bruce Blonigen and Bill Harbaugh, the program is designed to assist students who have proven aptitude in the classroom but who are unlikely to attend college because of their socio-economic background. Students are selected for the program by teachers and administrators.
Originally structured as a one-week economics course for incoming high school freshmen, the program has been expanded to two weeks and now has more than 100 students with courses for each of the high school classes. The program is intended to be taken all four years of high school so that by the time a student is ready to graduate the transition to higher education will be smoother and more feasible.
“When the University began its focus on diversity issues a number of years ago,” Blonigen said, “the type of effort that resonated with Bill and I the most was the idea of ‘filling the pipeline’ — helping to get more children from low-access backgrounds prepared and inspired to go to college. The first year, our goal was simply to bring 15 or so low-income middle school students to campus to teach them a little bit of economics. The students were so enthusiastic and we learned so much ourselves that we were then motivated to get these students into an additional camp the next year and start out a new cohort.”
Last week the junior group enjoyed lessons in physics and human physiology while the seniors learned about creativity and persuasion skills. Co-organized by professors Paul Van Donkelaar and Raghuveer Parthasarathy, the science labs revolved around encouraging hands-on participation. For instance, in one lab, GTFs with rock climbing experience used the rock wall at the Student Recreation Center to demonstrate the physics principles and mechanics behind climbing and then gave the students the opportunity to try out the lesson by climbing themselves.
Aside from the directly academic material, students were also given tutorials about improving their chances of attending college through things such as financial aid.
“The program is important,” Parthasarathy said, “both to convey an understanding of science to high school kids, but, as importantly, to convey an understanding of what college is like to students who, for various reasons, may not be on track to attend. We always ask the kids for evaluations and feedback, which are extremely positive. The abundance of hands-on activities helps, and the kids seem very engaged by being connected to “real” science, for example, doing things in research labs.”
From Aug. 9-13, freshman and sophomore high school students will be on campus to take courses in economics and psychology/neuroscience, respectively. On Aug. 10, University President Richard Lariviere will give a lecture to the freshman group on his academic specialty, Sanskrit.
This year’s incoming class of 40 high school freshmen is the largest in the program’s history, and organizers plan to double the number of sessions offered next year. The program, which operates exclusively on donations and the unpaid volunteer work of 25 University faculty members, has raised more than $150,000 in funding so far with majority of the money coming from University alumnus Shirley Rippey of Portland, a long-time financial supporter of the school.
“Teaching these students is its own reward,” Blonigen said, “Anyone who really believes in the power of education, as we do, wants to bring that to power to those where it can make the largest difference. The students in the program are also so enthusiastic and appreciative about the camps that it truly becomes the highlight of our summer.”
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