Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) has received $702,775 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Indiana Youth Programs on Campus (IYPC), designed to help Indiana colleges and universities to engage youth ages 5 to 18 in high-quality on-campus enrichment programs.
IYPC grant funding will enable SMWC to launch Challenging Ambitions and Maximizing Potential (C.A.M.P.) at The Woods in June 2023 and establish a new Office of Pre-College Outreach.
Janet Clark, Ph.D., provost, and co-author of the IYPC grant, stated, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity through this funding to create a meaningful summer experience that will showcase SMWC’s unique and career-ready academic programs that also allow the participants to earn college credit that will begin their journey to earning a degree.”
“These programs will allow youth to explore career interests, learn higher-level skills and enable them to envision college as a realistic goal,” added Clark.
C.A.M.P. at The Woods is an intensive five-day, residential optional learning experience for high school students led by SMWC faculty experts in their respective academic fields, centered around the following programs:
- Nurses for the Future
- Body Moves (Exercise Science)
- Go Global: Environmental Science and Sustainability
- Go Global: Equine Industry Education Experience
- Go Global: Leaders of Positive Change
Three of the five programs, called Go Global, will include a global component. Nurses of the Future will provide students with opportunities to explore nursing in various settings. Body Moves (Exercise Science) includes active daily sessions focusing on human science and CPR/AED and first aid certification training. Encouraging a growth mindset is a focused program learning outcome that will provide added learning opportunities across the entire C.A.M.P. at The Woods curriculum.
Kimberly LaComba, Ph.D., assistant professor of global leadership and co-author of the IYPC grant, stated, “Each program offering at C.A.M.P. at The Woods will provide participants with exceptional immersive learning opportunities on campus and/or from around the world. It is incredible to be able to offer access for students to study abroad.”
The Go Global programs provide a rare opportunity for high school students to participate in a one-week, post-summer camp, faculty-led study abroad. High school collaborative partnerships will also include three teachers for the trips.
In the fall of 2023, the Leaders of Positive Change and the Environmental Science and Sustainability programs will study abroad in the Galapagos Islands, while the Equine Industry Education Experience will be in Italy.
“Study abroad will be provided at no cost, breaking barriers for students who may have not otherwise been able to attend,” added LaComba.
Bob Jackson, director of pre-college outreach, stated, “I firmly believe that C.A.M.P. at The Woods will become an SMWC tradition and provide opportunities for pre-college students for many years. These camps and study abroad learning experiences will open the eyes of participants and create pathways to higher education that they never knew existed.”
SMWC has long been a proponent of youth education, enrichment and outreach as the college has hosted camps since the 1970s, with the original Camp at The Woods. Equine Camp has consistently been among the most popular camps, which will continue to be offered along with various sports camps.
In part, Lilly Endowment Inc. launched the IYPC initiative to respond to the significant decrease in the number of Hoosiers pursuing higher education degrees. In 2015, 65 percent of Indiana high school graduates went straight to college. The college-going rate has dropped steadily since. In 2020, only 53 percent of Hoosiers attended college the year after high school. Goals for the initiative include increasing the number of Indiana youth who obtain valuable postsecondary degrees and credentials and helping schools strengthen how they recruit students, especially students who higher education institutions have traditionally underserved.
The first annual C.A.M.P. at The Woods will take place June 5-9, 2023. Applications and more information for each summer program will be available on the SMWC website by January 1, 2023.