SSC GEAR UP Hosts Summer Camps for Area Students

Josh Hutton
In this photo, participants in Seminole State College’s GEAR UP summer camp pose for a group photo outside the Enoch Kelly Haney Center. More than 160 students from 12 area schools attended the two-week event, which included campus tours, STEM lessons, recreational activities and college-readiness workshops.
Participants in Seminole State College’s GEAR UP summer camp pose for a group photo outside the Enoch Kelly Haney Center. More than 160 students from 12 area schools attended the two-week event, which included campus tours, STEM lessons, recreational activities and college-readiness workshops.

Seminole State College’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) welcomed more than 160 students from 12 partner schools to campus this summer for two weeks of educational camps. The events were designed to provide sixth and seventh grade students with a glimpse into college life while building STEM skills and promoting academic success.

Students from Asher, Maud, Wewoka, Seminole, Varnum, Strother, Konawa, Okemah, Tecumseh, Wetumka, Holdenville and Moss participated in the camps, which offered a mix of campus tours, hands-on lessons and recreational activities.

During the first week, 90 students attended the camp and explored two college campuses, Oklahoma Baptist University and Redlands Community College. SSC science faculty provided an engaging lesson on water physics, allowing students to explore concepts such as buoyancy through interactive experiments. Students also visited the Oklahoma City Zoo and ended the week with a splash at Hurricane Harbor water park.

The second week welcomed 75 students, who participated in a two-day app development workshop. Working in teams, students created their own mobile apps and presented them to their peers, who voted on the best design for a prize. The week also included activity rotations in volleyball, basketball, esports and arts and crafts.

Seminole State College’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs – Believe and Achieve initiative is funded by a $6.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, providing $934,400 annually through 2031. The initiative serves more than 1,100 students across 12 school districts, beginning in sixth and seventh grades and continuing through their first year of postsecondary education.