BEND, OR -- For the fourth year, OSU-Cascades is inviting high school students to spend six days on campus over the summer. Christine Coffin says Summer Academy is a chance to see what college life is like, including sessions with professors, "These aren’t intense study programs. But instead, it’s an opportunity for our faculty to teach in their subject areas in a way that’s fun, in a way that gives the students some team-building activities, some group activities." Coffin tells KBND News it’s a also great way to keep learning over the summer, "Because of the pandemic and a variety of other things, high school students, they lost some traction in their education. So, any academic offering over the summertime will just put them in better shape when they get back in the fall."

There are different tracks, depending on students’ interests, including biomechanics, art, tech and how chemistry is used in crime scene investigations. They’ll also take off-campus excursions and meals in the dining hall. "In the evenings, the students who stay on campus in the residence hall will enjoy movie nights or discussion groups, they’ll hear from some of our recent graduates."

Participants must be incoming high school sophomores, juniors or seniors, "So, they are probably starting to think about what they’re going to do after high school. And so this is an opportunity for them to really understand what it’s like to live on a college campus, to see the classrooms, to walk around and play in the courtyard just like students during the university year normally would." Coffins says more than a third come from out of the area.

Registration is $749 for day sessions and $1,195 for overnights. Scholarships are available for qualified families. Six-day sessions start July 30th and August 13th. Participants who complete the Summer Academy receive a $500 scholarship to OSU-Cascades for the fall after high school graduation.