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Gifted youth test college life
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Shadia Zeineddine, 14, a Desert Ridge Junior High student uses a compute to disect an ipod during the Barrett Summer Scholars program held on the main campus of ASU in Tempe.
Tim Hacker, Tribune
Summer is here and school is out, but not for some of Arizona’s brightest middle school students.
More than 80 eighth- and ninth-grade students are still busy at work this July, scribbling notes during classes at Arizona State University.
The students are participating in a three-week program run by the honors college at ASU, the Barrett Summer Scholars. The program is designed to give students from around the state a sample of college life at ASU.
The students take college-style classes taught by professors, such as biology, digital animation, engineering and a course in literature and philosophy.
They even get to stay in the dorms, which is Mesa student Shadia Zeineddine’s favorite part.
“It’s like really being in college,” the 14-year-old Desert Ridge High School student said. “Being away from home, having a roommate and being independent — it’s really a neat experience.”
Students from all corners of the state — from Bullhead City to Tucson to Kingman — participate in the program, now in its second year. It was expanded this year because of increased interest from students and parents.
There is also a one-week program for seventh-graders.
To participate, students must score in the top 3 percent on a state-approved test to identify gifted students, complete an application and get teacher recommendations.
During the three-week session, students choose one of three classes offered in the morning, then participate in a literature discussion class in the afternoon called the Human Event, which is modeled after a course that freshman honors students can take at ASU.
“It’s really a great way to get the kids interested in what they might want to study in a few years,” said engineering professor Seth Wilk, who volunteers for the program.
Teachers fight back the inevitable learning fatigue with a variety of hands-on experiments and field trips every Friday.
In one class, students dissected a computer model of an iPod and then recreated it as a 3-D model. The same class is taking a field trip this week to the Google office in Tempe.
After class, the students get to eat at the campus dining halls, relax and visit with friends. But somewhat to their disappointment, they have a 10 p.m. curfew and some studying to do for a final exam.
“Yeah, those parts stink a little,” Shadia said.
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