Barrett Summer Scholars program gets under way

Program provides college experience to gifted middle school students

Barrett Summer Scholars (BSS) is bringing nearly 90 gifted eighth- and ninth-graders to ASU's Tempe campus for three weeks of academic immersion. BSS participants will get to experience what life is like at a college campus.

The students will stay at the Barrett Honors Campus and take academically rigorous courses designed to inspire and challenge. Students will spend time discussing the nature of humanity in the course "The Human Event," honing their public speaking skills in "Jury Trial," and building a solar oven in a unique sustainability class. 

In addition to academic courses, students will learn about the different resources available at ASU. Learning Support Services will share valuable study skills to enable student success, and faculty and students will speak to students about entrepreneurship at ASU. BSS participants also will attend field trips, including a visit to the City of Phoenix Police Crime Lab and the ASU Polytechnic campus.

Students will explore future career options, gain an intimate knowledge of campus resources, from the library to research opportunities, and find mentors in current ASU students.

The program aims to increase opportunities for academic development of Arizona's most gifted students, as it targets seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders who have scored in the 97th percentile, or above, on a state approved gifted exam. The distinctive living-learning setting of BSS encourages academic enrichment and intellectual discovery, with the goal of inspiring participants to achieve their full academic potential.

Program contact:
Jennifer Lee-Cota
480-965-2952