Summer Scholars program gives high school seniors glimpse of Lipscomb, Nashville
Stephanie Schiraldi | UCM |
Lipscomb University’s Summer Scholars Program is back for its seventh year, challenging rising high school seniors from around the country to get a head start on college credits and offering a glimpse into college life.
Julia Nored from Katy, Texas, is excited to see what Lipscomb has to offer.
“I chose Summer Scholars because when I visited Lipscomb, the sense of community made me feel like it could be a new home,” said Nored. “I think Summer Scholars will be beneficial because it will give me a chance to get a feel for the university and the people. I feel very honored to be a part of it.”
This year, 56 students from 17 different states are participating in the program.
“This year’s class is our largest, most diverse and smartest class in the program’s history,” said Johnathan Akin, director of admissions.
In just ten days, students earn three hours of college credit in a course of their choice and are also guaranteed early admission to Lipscomb in the fall.
Students choose from classes in “Fundamentals of Biology,” “Introduction to Psychology,” “An Entrepreneur’s Introduction to Business,” “Introduction to Communication” and “A Study of Nashville: Interpreting Meaning from the Built Environment or Fundamentals of Photography.”
The “Entrepreneur’s Introduction to Business” class had the opportunity to develop a new drink for the Well Coffeehouse. The drink, called the Nashville Limelight, is on the menu for a week and will be kept as a seasonal treat if sales do well.
“We thought of the most popular desserts for summer time and key lime pie was one of the ideas,” said Summer Scholar Hunter Brown from Granville, Ohio. “The Well is very open to business ideas, and they helped us perfect the drink.”
Outside of class time, they get to explore Nashville while getting to know each other. Students participate in several activities including a team building ropes course, miniature golf, a scavenger hunt around Nashville, a Nashville Sounds baseball game, canoeing and a luau with the admissions staff, all while experiencing the best food Nashville has to offer.
“These students are entering their senior year and have a lot of big decisions to make,” said Julie Traina, former Summer Scholar and current Summer Scholars counselor. “Summer Scholars is important for prospective students because they get to see what life is like at Lipscomb for ten days, get out of their comfort zone and make new friends that may help make their college decision easier.”
In this short amount of time, many students find future roommates and make lifelong friendships, Akin said.
Applications for the program are similar to applying for regular admission into the university and students must meet certain test score requirements and complete an interview before acceptance into the program.