Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) hosted 42 high school students during the second annual C.A.M.P. at The Woods. C.A.M.P., Challenging Ambitions and Maximizing Potential, was initially made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Indiana Youth Programs on Campus (IYPC).
IYPC is an initiative designed to help Indiana colleges and universities in their efforts to create new or expand and enhance existing high-quality, on-campus programs for Hoosier youth ages 5 –18.
Throughout the week, students engaged in hands-on, educational activities on and off campus and will receive two college credits for completion of the week. Students chose from five C.A.M.P. course options:
Go Global – NU 150: Nurses for the Future
PE 150: Introduction to Health and Wellness
EV 150: Applied Methods of Environment Sustainability
Go Global – EQ150: Introduction to Equine Industry
Go Global – GL 150: Leaders of Positive Change
In addition to the week attending activities on-campus, the Go Global courses will provide a one-week, post-summer camp, study abroad experience in Fall 2024, fully funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The Go Global NU-150 course will participate in a faculty-led travel abroad to London, England. The Go Global EQ-150 course will be able to travel to Germany. The Go Global GL 150 course will travel to Quito and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.
Janet Clark, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, expressed excitement from the week. “We are grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc., for providing significant funding for the second year of this innovative pre-college experience. It’s our hope that students gain some understanding about navigating college while getting a glimpse into the careers they’re interested in pursuing and what Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College can offer them.”
On the last day of C.A.M.P., each class gave presentations about their week to their fellow students, friends and family. The demonstrations from the classes included research findings about Yellowstone National Park from the EV-150 students, community projects on sustainability to take to the Galapagos Islands for the GL-150 class, equine care and horseshoeing from the EQ-150 group, the importance of health and wellness from the PE-150 class and CPR certification and simulated childbirth from the NU-150 students.
Evan Newport, a student from the GL-150 course shared, “Our class went to the aquatic center and got snorkel certified, which will be helpful when we travel to the Galapagos Islands. The whole week was a great experience.”
Reagan Taylor, a student in the NU-150 course, shared about her class participating in the RHIC simulation at Union Hospital. “Our simulation patient was in labor, so it was up to us to deliver the baby, which was cool to experience. It really helped me understand more about nursing and I’m thankful for the opportunity,” she said.
Bob Jackson, pre-college outreach director for SMWC, was pleased with the week. “It was fantastic to see high school students from Indiana and Illinois excited to go to school in the summer! I saw smiling faces, lots of laughing and lots of learning taking place inside and outside of classrooms. It was a packed week for them, being immersed in highly engaging activities in the areas of environmental sustainability, equine studies, nursing, health and wellness and global leadership. I believe C.A.M.P. at The Woods provides one-of-a-kind opportunities for high school students to not only see what college life can be but also allows for them to investigate career opportunities.”
Check out photos from the exciting week of C.A.M.P. at The Woods 2024!
