Today more than ever, teenagers have the opportunity to participate in valuable programs during the summer.
Today more than ever, teenagers have the opportunity to participate in valuable programs during the summer. Each year, more and more colleges and organizations are offering summer opportunities for students. Through summer programs, students can participate in areas such as engineering, medical research, creative writing, crime scene investigation, pharmacy, entrepreneurship, computer programming, photography, law, archeology and many other high interest fields. These summer programs enable students to pursue their interests, explore potential career fields, work with experts in an area of study, interact with their peers, build self-esteem, and get a preview of the college environment.Unfortunately, each summer, some of the most beneficial opportunities for students go unfilled and students who would thrive by participating in summer programs do not apply or enroll. One of the main reasons for this nonparticipation is that students and parents are not aware of these summer programs or they are uniformed about the important application deadlines for participation in these programs. For example, a ninth and tenth grade student from any Ohio school who has been identified as gifted in at least one recognized area can attend Ohio Summer Honors Institute tuition free at a participating Ohio college. In effort to help students and parents easily search for and find summer programs, I have developed two websites devoted to providing information about these opportunities. One of the websites is focused on programs within Ohio. The website address is www.studeteducationprograms.com/ohioprograms.htm. This website contains a large variety of summer programs that are available to students and direct links to the programs websites. The other site has information about summer programs that extend beyond Ohio: www.studenteducationprograms.com. This website is organized into categories (i.e. precollege programs, science programs, leadership programs, etc.). It allows students and parents to easily search for and find quality programs at reputable colleges and organizations around the country.Each website contains featured programs and numerous listings of the many summer programs available to students. This makes it easier for students and parents to examine the programs so they can have beneficial experiences during the summer.