Rising high school students ages 14 to 18 will have the opportunity to learn from Emmanuel College faculty in a variety of hands-on, weeklong academic enrichment programs on the College's Fenway-area campus this summer, from July 15 to 19.

The programs offer a choice between eight different intensive course options for students to get a taste of college-style classes in the heart of Boston. The coursework, based upon Emmanuel College classes, will expand beyond classroom instruction and include learning activities and field visits. Subjects include nursing, biotech and medical research, entrepreneurship, finance and data analytics, international studies and diplomacy, black analog photography, personal essay writing, and diseases and epidemics.

"What we can offer -- which is distinctive -- is putting the high school students directly into the same learning environments as our students," said Emmanuel's Provost Josef Kurtz. That includes use of Emmanuel College's Bloomberg software within the Finance and Analytics Lab, case studies, the ins-and-outs of the College's state-of-the-art nursing and science laboratory facilities, and more.

The "Nursing and Healthcare Field" program, for example, will offer future healthcare professionals a glimpse into Emmanuel College's modern nursing and clinical science facilities that mirror a hospital setting. Within the week, students will experience an overview of the wide variety of nursing roles, clinical skills sessions and participating in patient scenario simulations -- identical to some of the program's early coursework for nursing students.

Dean of the School of Nursing and Clinical Science Diane Shea, Ph.D., said their offering will be a way for students to gauge early on whether the nursing field is for them. If it is, then she said Emmanuel's nursing facilities are a great place to start: "[we're] fortunate it's a new program, [with] lots of room for development," she said.

The "Personal Narratives and College Essay" program, designed for the future college student, will include personal writing reflection and exercises, culminating in a personal story and ultimately a draft of a future college essay when students depart at the end of the week. Or future creative visionaries can explore the full cycle of photography: developing their own photos in a dark room that they take with an analog camera. Positioned in Boston's Fenway area, they'll have free reign over the photos they take of the surrounding cityscape and get accustomed to the hustle, bustle, and freedom of a college campus in the city.

Each program offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Emmanuel College experience, unique early access to a college curriculum, and insight into their post-high school aspirations, whether it's an inkling of where they want to aim for a career or gauging their interest in a particular field.

Like Emmanuel College's entrepreneurship course, the "Entrepreneurship Academy" will allow future entrepreneurs the chance to access campus technology, like a 3D printer and sewing machine, for project design. They will also learn the nitty gritty of the business world like intellectual property law and marketing.

Dean of the School of Business and Management Anne Marie Pasquale, J.D., said programs like this one are huge for high school students to explore their potential major and even open themselves up to early career exploration.

"You don't know what you're going to like until you do it -- that's what this is for," she said.

To learn more about Emmanuel's summer program offerings, including how to register, visit www.emmanuel.edu/future.



EVAN EDMONDS IS A COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST FOR THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AT EMMANUEL COLLEGE, BOSTON.