Middle schoolers experience college life at IUK camp

KOKOMO, Ind. - Most people don't think about what exactly is on the bottoms of their shoes.

Middle schoolers attending Indiana University Kokomo's Ignite Your Future Kids College got an up-close look at the bacteria lurking on their footwear through a microscope. As Brandon Wysong, lecturer in biology, handed out their labeled petri dishes, the campers responded with grimaces and comments about what they saw.

For Ava Carothers, an incoming sixth grader at Marion's Justice Intermediate School, swabbing her shoes and seeing the bacteria grown was her favorite activity.

"Some people had a lot of bacteria, and some didn't have any," she said. "I had one dot of bacteria on my dish."

Carothers was among about 60 rising sixth and seventh graders from Marion Community Schools who attended the weeklong day camp on IU Kokomo's campus. The program is designed to help students begin thinking about potential majors and careers before high school, so they can choose the classes they need to be prepared.

"We want them to have the experience of being on a college campus and also learn about the variety of careers that can be open to them within their areas of interest," said Cheryl Schlemmer, K-12 Pathway Specialist and camp director. "We've had sessions in education, STEM experiences, and others, so they can understand being a microbiologist, being a teacher, careers in sustainability, and then consider what careers they can have within those fields."

The week included a tour of Kokomo Municipal Stadium, sessions in microbiology, space science, sociology, sustainability, education, and plants, among others. They chose careers, received a salary, and learned how far their money goes by paying bills through a Reality Fair hosted by Financial Center, and experienced communication technology with Ahmad McKinnie Vision Studios.

The camp concludes Friday with a field trip to NearSpace Education in Upland, a nonprofit working to integrate space technology into classrooms.

Jackson Sparks, who will be a seventh grader at McCullough Middle School, said it was his second year at the camp. His favorite part was the microbiology lab, and his career goal is to be a science teacher like Wysong.

"It's just very fun," he said.

Schlemmer said the camp, including transportation to and from Marion, was free.

"We're reaching students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to get to a college and experience things like this," she said. "It helps them see themselves as college students someday, and see that IU Kokomo is a good option close to home."

Ignite Your Future Kids College is made possible through generous funding from the Lilly Endowment's Indiana Youth Programs on Campus Initiative.

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