OSU-Cascades launches high school Summer Academy

Starting this summer, Oregon State University-Cascades will host high school students on the Bend campus in August for an overnight Summer Academy, the school announced Thursday.

The four-day summer camp experience will expose participants to a college campus, with classes and workshops led by OSU-Cascades faculty, students and university partners. Participants will also experience living in a residence hall, as well as outdoor recreation on Central Oregon’s lakes, rivers and trails.

The Summer Academy will take place Aug. 20 to 23 and is for high school students who will be sophomores, juniors and seniors in the fall.

Participants will select one of three options to explore during their experience:

An Art+Media+Tech option will engage students in the creation of art projects using graphic design, computer coding, video and photo editing, and 3D printing. The option will be led by Kiel Fletcher, an instructor at OSU-Cascades and the lead of the undergraduate art program. Fletcher is an interactive media and video artist. A STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math option will encourage experimentation and team problem-solving. Students will use computing language such as C/C++, energy monitoring systems and other tools to address team challenges and design solutions. Instructors include faculty and experts from the OSU-Cascades energy systems engineering and graduate teaching programs, and the Central Oregon STEM Hub. In the Write for the Web option, students will practice writing by crafting content for social media, such as memes and tweets. They will also write for website and blog readers. The writing track will be led by Jenna Goldsmith, a poet and writing instructor at OSU-Cascades. Goldsmith’s work has appeared in “New Delta Review,” “Rabbit Catastrophe Review” and in a recently published chapbook titled “Genesis near the river.”

Outdoor programs will be led by trained student members of Cascades Adventures, an OSU-Cascades recreation program. Activities include team-building exercises, hiking, rock climbing, belay school, and paddling or floating the river. Activities are for all experience levels.

OSU-Cascades students will serve as counselors during the academy and support participants as they complete the program.

Participants who successfully complete the Summer Academy will receive a $500 scholarship toward tuition at OSU-Cascades. The scholarship will be valid for use the fall immediately following the recipient’s high school graduation.

Space in the Summer Academy is limited to 60 participants. Registration is $649 per student. A day option is available for $499. The fee covers classes and supplies, recreation activities, guides and equipment, outing transportation, all meals and snacks, evening programming, and three nights of supervised accommodation in the residence hall.

For information or registration details visit OSUcascades.edu/summeracademy or call 541-322-3100.