Don’t use your free time chasing Pokemon around! Instead, take the time to expand your horizons by participating in an enrichment program for high school students! Many of these programs are held on college campuses so you’ll be able to see what it’s like living and/or working on a college campus. Some programs are general college preparatory programs, but others are focused on specific areas of interest. While most are available during the summer months, many are available during the school year as well. Use your free time to learn something new!
- College Horizons is a non-profit organization that supports the higher education of Native American students by providing college and graduate admissions workshops to current 10th and 11th grade American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian high school students/participants from across the nation.
- Students will spend two weeks at a prestigious university on the Continent; two sites are usually offered each year.
- Deadline to apply is generally in early February for the following summer.
Colorado State University Native Education Forum
- The Native Education Forum is a six-day summer program for rising high school juniors and seniors. Students will gain university classroom experience, earn one academic credit, research issues critical to Native American/Indigenous communities, and get valuable assistance from professionals in the university application process.
- While on campus, students will have the chance to interact with university faculty, staff, and current students as they discuss and evaluate important issues that affect indigenous communities.
- Students finishing their sophomore or junior years in high school (class of 2021 or 2022) with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher and interest in Native American and Indigenous issues. Strong applicants demonstrate involvement and leadership roles within school, family, or community activities.
- There is no cost to attend this program. Students will be housed in the Colorado State University Residence Halls.
Discovering Medicine @ Stanford
- The three-day Discovering Medicine @ Stanford program is interactive, with small group workshops, and direct interactions with a variety of health professionals from Stanford Health Care and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System hospitals, as well as faculty, staff, and students from the Stanford School of Medicine.
- The program is held mid-week in early August. Applications for the 3-day Discovering Medicine @ Stanford become available in the Spring of each year. Admission for qualified applicants, as well as a wait-list, is competitive and rolling; it is to the applicants’ advantage to apply early. (Applications will remain open for a minimum of one week, but may close at any time if space in the program is no longer available.)
- Eligible students include current United States high school sophomores and juniors who are preparing for college attendance. (Students who are currently freshman or seniors, at the time of their application, are not eligible.
Hawai’i Women in Filmmaking Summer Reel Camps for Girls
- Summer camps are offered to girls ages 13-19 interested in learning more about the art of filmmaking. Camp topics include Basic Reel, Advanced, 2D, and Stop Motion and are each a week long.
- Deadline to apply is generally the end of May for the following Summer.
Honolulu Community College Summer Engineering Academy
- Each summer, Honolulu Community College offers high school students the opportunity to be engineers for a summer. Through this course, you will learn how to tackle that kind of problem solving, as well as the basics of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Programming, including electronics, prototyping, writing code and more as you explore what makes the world around you move and function.
- Prerequisites are completion of geometry; completion of physics, chemistry, or biology; and basic computer skills.
- Applications generally open in April with a May deadline.
Indigenous Pre-College Academy
- The University of Oregon is pleased to offer the Indigenous Pre-College Academy (IPCA). This summer academy aims to create a cohort of college-bound Indigenous students. Over the course of this eight-day program, the students will be acquainted with the UO’s campus, facilities, students, and staff. We hope to foster an early sense of comfortability on college campuses that will make the transition into higher education that much easier for our students. Students will stay in our new Kalapuya Ilihi residence hall and experience living and learning on a college campus.
- The academy’s classes and workshops will cover college prep, the admissions process, financial aid, navigating predominantly white institutions as a native scholar, professional development, health and wellness, cultural knowledge, and various academic areas. The ultimate goal for this academy is to help prepare our native students for college, offer them a chance to meet other youth from around the state and beyond, and build their academic confidence. Native students belong in spaces of higher education, and this program will offer them a chance to start claiming space NOW.
- IPCA is open to all high school students who will be in grades 9-12 in the coming school year. Priority will be given to rising juniors and seniors who are enrolled citizens from the nine federally recognized tribes of Oregon or from the other 34 recognized tribes in our statewide compact. We also accept applications from students who self-identify as part of an indigenous community, including Native Hawaiian students, Alaska Native students, or any of the other federally or state recognized tribes and bands across the US.
- IPCA is a free program. Housing and meals are provided. Students will need to arrange their own travel to and from Eugene.
- The INSPIRE Pre-College Program is a full scholarship open to Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian rising junior and senior high school students, including 2019 anticipated graduates, who want to spend 3-weeks on the George Washington University (GW) campus to learn about intergovernmental relations between tribal governments and the federal government. The program is a full-day experiential undergraduate course, Native Politics and the American Political System, taught by GW faculty, which will offer opportunities for students to meet and interview influential Native advocates who work in Washington, D.C.
- As an added bonus, INSPIRE students live on campus and participate in recreational programs with the community of high school students enrolled in GW Pre-College programs.
- INSPIRE scholarships are awarded to students based on evidence of academic ability, leadership potential, and an interest in public service. Students from all tribes and from every part of the United States are welcome to apply.
- There is no application fee. The INSPIRE Pre-College Program is spearheaded by the Native American Political Leadership Program (NAPLP) at (GW) and made possible by a generous contribution from AT&T.
- Hālau Holomoana is a year-long program for high school juniors and seniors, consisting of 180 hours of total instruction, culminating in a 10-day open ocean voyage.
- Having garnered planning input and commitments of support from retired kūpuna who fulfilled successful maritime careers as well as skilled seamanship professionals, cultural practitioners, and master navigators, this program reflects a promising inter-generational, community-based approach.
- This program prepares youth for careers that provide a comfortable livelihood while also affording ample time away from work to give back to the community through lifelong learning and perpetuation of Hawaiian canoe culture.
- Program applications are generally available online in August-September of each year.
- Nā Pua No‘eau programs are rooted in Hawaiian culture, values and knowledge to work with families and give children confidence to make choices for their future. Nā Pua No‘eau uses an approach to help children choose a successful path without leaving their Hawaiianess behind. A native Hawaiian component will be integrated in all of the classes to provide students with Hawaiian role models, culture, values, history, protocol, and language. In addition to enrichment in academic areas, students will participate in field experiences, cultural activities, and personal development.
- Nā Pua Noʻeau has scheduled an ʻOhana Day on Saturday, January 18, 2020 called Ornithology, the study of Native Hawaiian Birds. At this activity for the entire family, you will experience ʻĀinacology with Kamoaʻs Kitchen, mini kahili making, art, and games, all while learning about our native birds. It will take place at UH Mānoaʻs Center for Hawaiian Studies from 8:30am – 1:00pm. To register, visit www.tinyurl.com/ohanaforthebirds.
Native Youth Community Adaptation and Leadership Congress
- NYCALC is a week-long student environmental conference for Native American, Alaskan native, and Pacific Islander high school students interested in environmental issues, natural resource conservation, community leadership, and public service.
- Students currently in grades 10-12 may apply each Spring; selected students from each community will travel with a chaperone from that community.
- Travel to and from the event, conference lodging, and meals will be paid for by the federal agency partners.
Pacific Center for Environmental Studies
- The 2016 PaCES-HIMB Summer Environmental Science Program is an intensive 6-week program providing selected Hawaii high school juniors and seniors with hands-on education and research experiences in environmental science. The program provides a college-like experience for 24 high school students. The first few weeks of the program will emphasize classroom, laboratory, and field instruction in environmental science using facilities at Windward Community College and the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). The latter half will emphasize the development and implementation of environmental science research projects by the students under the supervision of research mentors. These projects will evaluate various aspects of how a watershed impacts the adjacent coral reef environment. Thus, an ahupua’a, or ridge-to-reef approach, will be embraced. Students will complete a formal research paper describing their research. The end of the program will culminate in a symposium in which the students present their research to a broader audience. The closing symposium will be held on Saturday, July 16, 2016.
- Students participating in this program and completing its activities will receive 4 college credits in BIOL 124/124L (tuition waived) and a $1,000 scholarship.
- Deadline to apply is generally the end of February for the following summer.
Richardson Law & Justice Program
- The Richardson Law & Justice Summer Program is a one-week summer program for high school students, originally and successfully piloted during the summer of 2015.
- The Program helps to maintain a pipeline to encourage youth from underrepresented groups to consider higher education, legal education, and legally-related careers. The Program introduces participants to issues of law and justice; builds their skills in discussion, research, debate, analysis, and advocacy; and provides them with the tools and inspiration to become active and involved citizens of their communities. Current law students engaged with civic education initiatives help administer the Program.
- There is no tuition and no other fees or costs for participants in the Richardson Law & Justice Summer Program. The Program provides free daily transportation and meals for participants. Participants are selected based on an application process that includes a writing sample and a statement of purpose.
Science Camps of America-Hawaiʻi
- Begin your summer in the field exploring the volcanoes, rocks, forests, ocean and skies of the Big Island of Hawaii. At Science Camps of America in what has been called “nature’s greatest laboratory,” you will see science come to life as you experience geology, oceanography, ecology, climate, and astronomy, “up close and personal”. Practicing scientists will share their stories and show you the latest gear they use to further their work. Gain an understanding of our world that will surely have a life-long affect.
- Each ten-day session will feature six or seven travel days. Some trips will take all day while some will take only a few hours.
- Students entering grades 8-12 in the Fall are invited to apply. There is a cost to attend, but financial aid is available.
Society of Military Engineers Summer Construction Camps
- These camps are designed for high school students who excel in math, science, and technology courses and are interested in pursuing engineering, architectural, or related fields in college.
- One student from the State of Hawaiʻi will be selected to attend each of the construction camps. Students may apply to more than one camp.
- This opportunity is open to high school juniors and sophomores who are interested in STEM.
St. John’s College Summer Academy
- The Summer Academy at St. John’s College is a pre-college, residential summer program that offers high school students ages 15 to 18 an exceptional learning experience. Organized in one-week sessions, students read and discuss texts from the Western canon in small classes guided by St. John’s renowned faculty. Students live in dormitories and share campus amenities as well as enjoy off-campus excursions to celebrated sites. Sessions are hosted on both St. John’s campus locations, in Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM. Students may spend a week or more on both campuses.
- Deadline to apply is generally in mid-May for the following summer.
Summer Leadership Summit for Native Youth in Food and Agriculture
- Held at the University of Arkansas School of Law, this program promotes careers in farming, ranching and food businesses for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian youth ages 15-18. The Summit supports the future of Tribal food systems by promoting intertribal cooperation and an understanding of food sovereignty. The event works to ensure the success of future Native farmers and ranchers by providing specialized education that will help youth thrive as the next generation of food and agriculture leaders.
- Deadline to apply is generally in mid-April for the following summer.