Champlain College Summer Programs Offer College Experiences for High School Students

January 25, 2016 | Champlain News

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Champlain College will host five pre-college programs this summer from its hillside campus overlooking Burlington and Lake Champlain. The summer institutes offer high school students a chance to dive into a subject they are considering majoring in and to experience life on a college campus, according to Peter Straube, Champlain's strategic events producer.

The summer 2016 Champlain program options are Digital Forensics & Cyber Security, IT & Digital Media, Champlain Game Academy, Young Writers' Workshop and an Art & Design Portfolio-Building Course. All five programs are designed to strengthen high school students’ college applications, assist with the transition to a college learning environment and position them for a career they will be excited about.

"All students receive personal mentoring and work closely with Champlain College professors who have extensive expertise and professional connections in their field. Students often remark on how much fun they have working with a group of their peers who are interested in the same things that they are," Straube added.

Along with attending class or doing creative project work, students are also able to enjoy recreational activities and social events that take advantage of summer in Vermont, he noted. Students stay in one of Champlain's many contemporary or Victorian-era residence halls and share meals in the dining hall of the IDX Student Life Center, overlooking Lake Champlain.

"Many of the programs have limited space, so we are encouraging students and their families to sign up early to ensure a spot this summer," he added.

Learn more about the 2016 summer pre-college programs at www.champlain.edu/summer

Young Writers' Conference

May 27 - 29:  The weekend offers a chance for dedicated young writers to live on the Champlain College campus, meet others who share their passion for storytelling, and study writing with celebrated authors and teachers. Participants will take part in more than 10 hours of intensive workshops in fiction, poetry, songwriting, creative nonfiction, scriptwriting, and environmental writing; exchange and critique manuscripts; listen to faculty readings; attend interactive craft sessions; and share work with the Champlain College Young Writers community. Learn more here and register.

Governor's Institutes of Vermont - Information Technology & Digital Media

June 18 - 26: Students who have completed their freshman, sophomore, or junior year of high school are invited to attend. The goal of the program is to help students develop their skills and understanding of the emergent digital landscape as it relates to technology and design. Participants will interact with many tools that professional developers and designers work with. Hardware, software and code will be utilized to create graphics, animation, interactive design, user interfaces, communication, products, and visual art. Those attending will work closely with college faculty who have extensive expertise and professional connections in the field. More information about this program and the application can be found here.

Art & Design Portfolio Building Course

July 9 - July 24: Graphic Design Portfolio Preparation Course, July 11 - 26: Create or refine your personal portfolio, get a taste of college life and earn three transferable college credits in this intensive, hands-on 16-day learning experience. Choose from tracks in graphic design, film & video, game art and creative media and get personalized advice on how to present your work for college admittance. Students spend much of each day in the studio, working with industry-experienced professors and artists.  More information about this program and the application can be found here.

Digital Forensics & Cyber Security Academy

July 17 - 30: For high school students who are interested in learning about digital forensics and cyber security, Champlain College will host a residential program at the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation that will immerse participants in learning the science and art of investigating computer crimes and building secure networks. Students will learn how to collect and preserve digital evidence using real-life investigative procedures used by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, gain valuable experience applying cyber security techniques to protect computers and networks against attack, and explore career opportunities in this fast-growing field while enhancing the quality of their college applications. More information about this program and the application can be found here.

Champlain Game Academy

Session 1: July 11 - 22 / Session 2: July 25 - Aug.5: This camp is a perfect fit for students who are considering the game industry for a career. There are two residential sessions on campus. This experience will introduce participants to aspects of game development such as game design, game art and animation, programming, sound, testing and production. Students will work in teams that collaborate across all game development disciplines to create original game projects. Teamwork and creative collaboration will be encouraged, and by the end of the academy, students will have a full understanding of the behind-the-scenes operations of the world's professional game studios. For more information and forms visit here.

See photos and learn more at https://slate.adobe.com/cp/fbooH/

About Champlain College

Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 60 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 379 Colleges: 2015 Edition. Champlain College is featured in the "Fiske Guide to Colleges" for 2016 as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.