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FARMINGTON – Eleven high school students got a first-hand look at their potential educational futures today, as part of a program designed to reduce the fear of going to college.
The students are campers at Camp Susan Curtis, and were visiting the University of Maine at Farmington as part of the organization’s Camp to Campus Leadership Tour. The students, all of whom are 15 or 16 years old, toured the UMF campus and participated in an informational presentation about college.
Camp Susan Curtis was named for the daughter of former Governor Kenneth Curtis, and is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help underprivileged youths through a variety of activities and events. The organization tries to help its campers, who are often referred to the camp by school guidance departments and the like, improve their self-esteem, establish confidence and develop leadership skills. Many of the former campers go on to be counselors, graduating from Leaders-in-Training to Counselors-in-Training.
The Camp to Campus tour is an event designed to introduce campers, many of whom have spent eight summers or more with Camp Susan Curtis and are preparing to graduate high school, to the college setting. The organization notes on its website that “8 out of 10 [campers] go on to college,” which is well over the state average of roughly 50 percent.
UMF, the University of Maine at Orono, Colby College and Bates College all cooperate with Camp Susan Curtis to host the students and show them the campus.
“The camp helps them become future leaders,” UMF Assistant Director of Media Relations April Mulherin said, “and higher education is part of that.”
Some of the counselors are themselves no strangers to UMF. Senior Angela West, of Fryeburg, is finishing up a major in psychology. She has worked at Camp Susan Curtis for five summers. Emilee McCallister, of Westbrook, will be a freshman at UMF next year.
“It gives them a feel for college life and what sort of options there are,” she explained.
The campers themselves said they had fun and were looking forward to walking a college campus again; this time as a student.
“It’s really interesting,” Marisa Bosse, of Madison, said.
“It’s good to look forward into the future,” Renee Cote, of Auburn, agreed. “You want to get an early start with this stuff.”
The information session following the tour focuses on the nuts and bolts of college; the admission process, what sort of academic programs were available and what residential life is like. There is also an opportunity for the campers to have their questions about college answered.
The students visited Bates College earlier this summer, and expect to visit Colby College on August 13 and UMO on August 19.
