WSU Hosts Summer School Graduation Celebration for Young Scholars
OGDEN, Utah – Junior high students, who have spent an intense summer studying math, engineering and science in Weber State University’s summer-school program known as WSU PREP (Pre-Freshman Program), will display their work to family and friends during the Closing Celebration, July 19 at 6:45-8:30 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Ballroom.
The program will include remarks from Utah Sen. Ann Millner, a former WSU president and professor in the Master of Health Administration program. Following her comments, guests will get a chance to view the students’ projects.
PREP is an intensive, seven-week summer boot camp in science, technology, engineering and math offered by WSU’s College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology (EAST) with the support of the College of Science.
Seventh- to ninth-grade students who maintain a B+ average in their math classes and have a teacher recommendation are eligible to apply. Students attend for three consecutive summers. The program, which began with 72 students in 2015, now has 186; 43 percent are female, and 31 percent are ethnically diverse.
“We expect about 750 people at the graduation,” said Dana Dellinger, WSU’s Center for Technology Outreach director. “The 186 students in the three-year program will display their physics and engineering skills — their rockets and robots. They’ll engage families in logic and problem-solving games. I want people to realize that committing to this kind of learning is hard, but it’s a great benefit to the students, families and community, and that’s why Weber State embraced PREP.”
The opportunity is free thanks to a collaboration with Weber State, the Davis, Ogden and Weber school districts, and the support of Hill Air Force Base STEM, BAE Systems, Soroptimist International of Ogden, and Wadman Corporation.
Students attend PREP five days a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays are reserved for field trips. First-year students are introduced to logic and its application to math, engineering and problem-solving. Second year is for algebraic structures, physics and more math-related problem-solving. The third year focuses on technical writing, probability and statistics, and computer science. Over the course of three years, participants also hear from 72 career-awareness speakers, who describe various professional opportunities.
Families appreciate the broadened learning the program provides and are now enrolling younger siblings.
“I’m impressed with the students’ intellectual curiosity and willingness to work hard to increase their knowledge. They are smart, funny and generous kids,” Dellinger said. “Their families are wonderful too, making considerable effort during the summer to support their child’s education and future success.”
For more about the program, visit weber.edu/wsuprep.
Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
Allison Barlow Hess, Public Relations director
801-626-7948 • ahess@weber.edu- Contact:
Dana Dellinger, Center for Technology Outreach director
801-626-7552 • danadellinger@weber.edu