By Sam Campbell

Sleep, eat, TV, repeat. Too often that is the daily schedule for a teen during the summer. We begin summer excited for free time and adventure, but a week later we resort to lazing around and doing nothing. Want to do something fun and productive? Try doing one of the many summer programs available!

There are programs for art, broadcasting, architecture, business, leadership, health, journalism, and many, many more. According to Mrs. Moffitt, “Almost every single college and university in the country (and abroad) has summer programs on their campuses in a variety of topics and a large range of prices. And many offer scholarships or financial aid.” With all of these opportunities, and many of them free, why not give them a try? Mrs. Moffitt also added, “These are incredible opportunities to learn more about subjects you are interested in exploring for college and career, and also to help you decide where you want to study after high school.”

To learn about such opportunities, attend the summer program information meeting being held Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. And “If a topic or college that interests you is not listed” at the meeting, be sure to “check on the college’s website.” Mrs. Moffitt also encourages everyone looking for summer programs to “Have fun exploring!”

These programs have created friendships and filled teens’ summers with excitement. Additionally, certain programs have helped others who were trying to get into competitive programs at selective colleges. I can almost guarantee anyone attending an Ivy League school attended some sort of summer program. Selective colleges “expected [students] to be engaged in meaningful activities during their summers and that can include a variety of summer programs that may fit in their family budget, including many of the free summer programs offered at ASU in business, foreign language, FEE economics camps, etc.,” says Mrs. Moffitt.

Last year, because of Covid-19, many programs were cancelled or changed. I personally planned to attend Boys State and ASU’s Fleischer Scholars program. Sadly, both were cancelled. But don’t despair. With developing knowledge, universities have come up with new ways to have summer programs. And who knows, maybe by summer we can all walk around without needing a mask. I sure hope so.

So, do a summer program, have some fun. I promise you won’t regret it.