Even during the summer months, the Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) campus is a hub for learning.
W&J will host several camps and events in the coming weeks, with both academic and athletic focuses.
Academic Opportunities
From July 17-21, students in grades 3-8 will come to campus for Camp Tech, a science education week provided by Intermediate Unit 1 (IU1). The budding scientists will work with new and upcoming technology and focus on learning skills in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
“Educational summer camps, such as Camp Tech, provide students with the opportunity to explore their interests in a fun and meaningful manner where they can build upon skills they already have or learn a new skill to become future innovators,” said Sarah D’Urzo, media coordinator for IU1.
Students will rotate through sessions on 3D printing, robotics, programming and Minecraft. This year’s camp also will feature evening sessions for families and adults, with a glass engraving event on July 18 and a vinyl design event on July 20.
The campus will welcome internationals learners as part of the Fulbright Summer Institute. Twenty-four German students will spend three weeks on W&J’s campus to expand their global education with the program “American Society and Culture: Reimagining the Rust Belt, Sustainability as a New Tradition.”
Participants in the Fulbright camp will study sustainability in environmental protection, water management, city planning, transport, and infrastructure, with a focus on the Pittsburgh region. The students will visit area companies and take other program-related excursions while staying on the W&J campus from July 24 through August 10.
Athletic Experiences
In the way of sports, youngsters will have the opportunity to learn skills from members of W&J’s coaching staff.
Men’s basketball coach Ethan Stewart-Smith will lead a skills camp for boys entering grades 3-9 from June 19-23 and a mini-day camp for boys and girls entering kindergarten through third grade from June 12-16. Kids will work on building their fundamental skills and compete in games against each other for a camp championship at the end of the week.
Stewart-Smith has been working at basketball camps since high school and has seen a lot of kids grow through the experience.
“Camps are important because it’s a great opportunity to introduce the game to younger kids in the area and teach the game to those that have a passion for it,” he said. “It’s extremely rewarding for myself and our players that come back to work at the camp to see the progress in so many kids over the course of a week. We also have campers that come back on a yearly basis, and it’s great to see their growth and how much they’ve improved since we last saw them.”
In addition, women’s basketball coach Jina DeRubbo will lead two training events, a day camp for girls in grades 2-8 from June 12-16 and an overnight camp for girls in grades 5-10 from July 16 to July 19.
Camps from men’s football coach Mike Sirianni include a 7-on-7 passing camp for high school teams June 14; an offensive skill academy for kids age 10-18 on June 15; a youth football camp for kids age 6-12 from June 19-22; a football team camp for students entering grades 9-12 from June 23-26; and a prospect camp for students entering grades 9-12 on July 22.
