THE LORAS COLLEGE MAGAZINE | VOL. 59 | NO. 1 | WINTER 2010

Campus News | Spring 2011
Not Your Average Summer Camp BY CLARE HORST (’11)
For most young people, summertime
means sunshine, lemonade, swimming
and baseball. Now, with the sunshine
also comes Loras College Summer
Academy!
Last summer, Loras College began a
summer camp for adolescents unlike
anything else. This exciting new opportunity
was created for students entering
eighth, ninth and 10th grades, and offers
a prestigious “pre-college” experience
combining experiential, hands-on courses
with educational social activities. The
first annual Loras College Summer
Academy was held July 25-30, 2010.
The program is designed to create an
academic and faith-based environment
for students with classes that provide
hands-on, interactive learning. “The idea
is to introduce students to dynamic
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faculty teaching interesting subjects, to
show them that learning can be fun,”
explained Michael Budde (’70), executive
director for business development
and strategic initiatives. “We want to get
students energized about learning and
excited about college.”
Summer Academy got off to a great start
last summer with 43 participants who
signed up for one of six different classes.
Some classes included, “Let’s Get
Cooking: Culinary Arts for Young
Chefs” and “Real World CSI;” two
classes which will be offered again this
coming summer.
Two different sessions will be taught
back-to-back this summer, during the
last two weeks in July. “This year, we
are offering both major and minor areas
A group of students pose on the bridge connecting the Alumni Campus Center and the Athletic
and Wellness Center.
of study, so students won’t be working
on the same thing all day,” explained
Budde. “Students of this age can only
focus for so long, and studying only one
subject all week makes for long class
periods.” To remedy this, major classes
will be taught from 9 a.m. until 2:45 p.m.
and minor classes will run from 3 p.m.
until 5 p.m.
The program is also planning to partner
with local businesses for some of the
classes. Jordan Degree, executive director
of the Dubuque Art Center, will be
teaching a course entitled, “ART: Make
it BIG, Make it PUBLIC!”
Students participating in this class will
work with professional artists to plan
and create a large-scale, mosaic mural
which will be on display for the entire
Dubuque community.
A second course will bring students to
the National Mississippi River Museum
& Aquarium for the class, “Become the
Next River Rat: Mississippi River
Exploration,” taught by museum
educators Mark Wagner and Jared
McGovern. The class will have the
chance to explore the Mississippi and
the plants and animals that call the river
home.
Senior Ray Werner (Dysart, Iowa)
worked as a teaching assistant (TA) last
summer with Cindy Smith, Ph.D.,
associate professor of Greek and Roman
studies, who taught an archaeology class
called, “Can You Dig It?” He also
served as a resident assistant, guiding
the campers to and from their classes
and supervising them in the residence
halls. “I think I can speak on behalf all
of the TAs when saying that this was a
very rewarding experience,” said
Werner.