Summer Enrichment Program Serves High-Schoolers a Slice of College Life

Students turned an unusual array of objects – a puffy pink pony, a giant nose, one wooden hoop – into charcoal sketches at the University of Mary Washington earlier this week.

“Awesome stuff, guys,” Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing Ashe Laughlin said of the rising 10th- through 12th-graders’ still-life creations. “Really terrific!”

More than 100 high-schoolers converged on this week’s second annual Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), a six-day slice of college coursework and campus life. Laughlin’s course, “Exploring Art and Practice,” was one of 17 available to sample, with subjects ranging from writing to cybersecurity, business to pop culture, and mapping to physics.

In addition to three academic classes taught by UMW professors, the students, who soon will begin their own college careers, also chose from 30 enrichment sessions, including lessons on food waste, mindfulness, mastering the college admissions maze and more. Field trips took them to Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont, LibertyTown Arts Workshop, Downtown Greens community garden, the Rappahannock River and other nearby locales.

All the while, they lived in Willard Hall and dined at the Cedric Rucker University Center.

“To have a roommate and to be in an actual college dorm is pretty cool,” said Elyse Katolin, a rising 10th-grader from Crofton, Maryland, who chose a course called “Secret Languages.”

Alfred-David Viyuoh (foreground) and Vivian Rinko complete charcoal sketches during “Exploring Art and Practice.” The course was among several offered during the Summer Enrichment Program, which had students taking off-campus excursions, sleeping in a residence hall and dining at the Cedric Rucker University Center. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing Ashe Laughlin asks for student opinions on a still life charcoal drawing assignment for his course, “Exploring Art and Practice.” Participants got a glimpse of the artistic process and learned about sketching and painting during the session, part of the Summer Enrichment Program. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

From front to back: High-schoolers Maggie Farran, Abby Dye, Michael Wilder and Olivia Carey participate in a course called “Drumroll Please! An Introduction to Percussion” taught by Adjunct Professor of Percussion Matt Case during the Summer Enhancement Program at UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

UMW Adjunct Professor of Percussion Matt Case teaches participants basic skills during his Summer Enhancement Program course, “Drumroll Please! An Introduction to Percussion.” Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Bryce Brookebank (back row) listens as Adjunct Instructor of Music Michael Bratt teaches “Audio Technology and Production” during UMW’s Summer Enrichment Program. The six-day event brought high-schoolers to campus for an introduction to college life. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

She joined campers from as far away as Ohio, California and beyond.

“We thought it might be a good way to test the waters,” said rising 11th-grader Valeria Cintron, who flew in from Puerto Rico and selected an English class called “Write Now? Right Now!”

Samantha Bass, a rising 11th-grader at King George High School, picked a course called “The Realities of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.” She plans to study psychology at UMW in a couple years. “I hope to go here one day,” she said. “I just wanted a head start.”

SEP is an important opportunity for high-schoolers, said Associate Professor of Communication Elizabeth Johnson-Young, who co-chairs the program with Senior Lecturer of Biology Michael Stebar. “We hope this gets them excited and interested in college and even appreciative of the liberal arts experience!”

Assistant Professor of Writing Studies and Digital Studies Brenta Blevins pushes high-schooler Elyse Katolin of Crofton, Maryland, in a rolling chair during a virtual reality experience. The exercise was part of “The Realities of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality,” a course Blevins taught during this year’s Summer Enrichment Program for pre-college students. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Assistant Professor of Writing Studies and Digital Studies Brenta Blevins talks with high-schooler Chris Shortridge about augmented reality during the 2023 Summer Enrichment Program, designed to introduce upcoming college students to campus life. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

A stress-relieving coloring project led to an exercise in augmented reality using a QR code and an iPhone. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

“An Introduction to Cybersecurity” was one of 17 courses offered during the Summer Enrichment Program, which also included 30 sessions that delved into pertinent topics and took students on off-campus field trips. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

Associate Professors of Computer Science Xin-Wen Wu (pictured here talking with Collin Nester) and Andrew Marshall co-taught “An Introduction to Cybersecurity” course during the Summer Enrichment Program. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.