4H Illini Summer Academy is a summer program in several disciplines at the University of Illinois which provides the high schoolers with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in their field of interest. They will be taken to the tours of different departments, labs, museums, and places on campus related to their chosen program and will engage in activities that familiarize them with different concepts in the field.
I had the fortune to be involved in this program last summer as part of the anthropology program led by Dr. Petra Jelinek. I took them to a tour to the Carl Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and especially Dr. Rebecca Stumpf's lab. I admire programs like this which can help high schoolers at advanced stages learn about different fields to assist them in choosing their college major. I did not have access to such programs when I was choosing a major and I truly think students can benefit from such programs.
The program is about a week long and costs very cheap in the range of $200-$400 for most programs which I think is worth it considering how much college tuition costs in this country. Access to such programs can help the students to choose the right path and avoid wasting time and money on something that would not work for them.
I strongly suggest attending similar programs if you are in high school or have kids in the range of 14-19 years old.
Here is the link to the program:
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