By Chris Moffitt
As we have all regretfully come to realize, the summer and all of its joys have passed. School has started and we are once again chained in the bonds of stress and fatigue. Fortunately, this does not mean that our sacred memories of those angelic June and July months are lost to us forever. We can still reminisce on our amazing experiences and bask in the memories they bring.
Many students of TPA had the opportunity to participate in extraordinary activities over the summer. These summer activities must be shared so that others might be able to participate in them as well next summer. Read closely, for one of these activities might have the ability to change your life in the same way it did so many others.
Michael Benson, a senior, went to an awesome summer camp in the “heart of Chicago” at Columbia University called the High School Summer Institute. The camp is an intensive three-week program where the participants were immersed in the visual, media, and communicative arts. The camp offers many different subjects of art that the participants can study including studio art, photography, fictional writing, marketing, musical theater, and so much more. Michael took the courses of game design, and game art. In these classes, he learned three-dimensional modeling, texturing, and even created his own video game!
“I loved my classes, but the best part was definitely the planned activities where we saw live shows in Chicago and even went on a cruise ship.” Obviously, no one ever gets bored while at this amazing camp! Michael continued: “If you are as enamored of art as I am, the Chicago camp offers a ton of programs and I am sure you can find something you’re very interested in. The people, the place, and the activities are awesome! I’d highly recommend it to anyone who’s interested in any type of art.”
Kyle Pickard, a junior, attended the Wharton Sports Business Academy where he stayed for four weeks at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. While at this impressive camp, Kyle studied business management with a focus on sports industry. Describing the camp, Kyle explains, “everything you learn can be applied to any industry, but it is learned through sports, which is very cool.” “The best things,” Kyle says, “were the guest speakers and the site visits” where he heard from the general managers of several different professional sports teams and visited several different awesome places. What a great way to spend the summer!
Joshua Putrasahan spent three days at Grand Canyon University attending the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar (HOBY). Though it was only three days, Joshua described it as being a “life changing experience.” At the camp, participants learn about leadership and service and are motivated to become leaders in their communities. Recounting the experience, Joshua says, “It really taught me how much of an impact we can have and it inspired me to be the best person I could possibly be.” The camp is only for those who just finished the 10th grade so if any sophomores wish to attend this “once in a life time experience,” talk to Mrs. Moffitt by January.
Kayla Phillips, a senior, studied Chinese for the first time while at the ASU StarTalk Chinese Camp. Participants of this camp stay in the ASU Barrett Dorms, eat the Barrett food, learn Chinese, and do many fun activities for two weeks, for no cost whatsoever. Not only is it free, but it is also an awesome experience. Kayla’s favorite part of the camp was “being exposed to a new language like nothing we are exposed to at TPA.”
Amazingly, the camp worked so well that Kayla “was already starting to be able to formulate sentences after only a few days!” The camp works you hard, but “there are also field trips, cultural classes, and amazing food.” If you are interested in languages, or just want a new cultural experience, this is the camp for you!
Though summer seems centuries away from now, the best summers are planned very far in advance. Also, many of the applications for amazing summer camps like these close around January. Find out about amazing summer opportunities like these by talking to Mrs. Moffitt. Make your summers forever memorable!