Thanks to an anonymous donor, Waupaca High School students Brett Koski and Robert Durfee have been named the winners of the first Waupaca High School Scholarship Program.
This scholarship will cover their costs for tuition, classroom supplies and room and board for one week at Michigan Technological University’s educational Summer Youth Program in Houghton, Michigan.
The Summer Youth Programs at Michigan Tech are lead by the Center for Pre-College Outreach (CPCO) office and allow participants to discover and learn about various fields through hands-on laboratory, classroom and field experiences.
These camps offer both middle and high school students the choice of more than 50 interactive camps and career and adventure explorations in engineering, science and medicine, technology and computing, outdoor and environmental studies, business, arts and humanities and leadership.
The program has been in operation for more than 40 years.
Each camp is a week long, with camps beginning June 21 and ending Aug. 1.
Those who attend learn about career opportunities, interact with alumni and role models to get firsthand accounts of the diverse careers in the fields they are interested in, experience college life and meet other students with similar backgrounds and interests.
This scholarship was open to WHS students in grades 9-11 (as of fall 2014) and was selected on a competitive basis.
Students were reviewed based on academics, answers to required questions and teacher recommendations.
The selection committee also reviewed involvement in extracurricular activities, outside interests or responsibilities and application neatness and accuracy.
“We were very excited when we received the call from Michigan Tech about an alumni wanting to reward Waupaca students with pre-college summer opportunities focused on STEM,” said Jeff Dolski, a guidance counselor at WHS. “After seeing the list of high-flyers that applied, we knew the donor would have their work cut out for them in choosing the two finalists. This is a great example of a community member that has gone out and created success, and is now giving back to the community where their education began. We look forward to many years of supporting this awesome opportunity.”
While a total of 12 candidates applied for this scholarship, the scholarship program covers the costs for two students to attend.
Durfee plans to attend the Mobile Robotics course which jumps into the world of autonomous mobile robotics from concept to construction and computation.
These students build and program their own robot.
Koski plans to attend the Mechanical Engineering: Automotive Engineering course which challenges students to learn expanded basics of engines and other vehicle technology.
The anonymous donor sponsoring this scholarship is a Waupaca alumni who believes the camps offered at Michigan Tech are a great opportunity to educate and prepare students for a career they are passionate about.
For information about the camps/explorations that allow participants to discover and learn about various fields through hands-on laboratory, classroom and field experiences, visit www.syp.mtu.edu or call 1-888-773-2655.
The program also offers a week just for middle school students on June 28 through July 2.