Auburn Engineering summer high school outreach efforts on the rise

Summer may be the quietest time of year in the classroom, but for Auburn Engineering's outreach and recruitment efforts, June and July is when things really begin heating up.

So far this year, 128 rising 9th-12th grade students from across 15 states have attended Auburn Engineering's Recruitment, Outreach, and Scholarship Office's summer outreach programs like the Engineering Summer Expo and Senior Tigers Engineering summer camp.

This year themed "Engineering the Future," the expo allows participants to meet with faculty, staff and current students while participating in hands-on activities and experiments in virtual reality, space exploration mission, biomaterial cancer research and more.

“Our summer expo is designed to expose students to ways engineering can apply to everyday challenges, and how answering these challenges will shape our future," said K-12 outreach administrator Sydney Riley.

The Seniors Tigers Engineering Camp provides rising high school seniors more intensive learning opportunities in both the classroom and the lab with faculty from each of Auburn's engineering departments. Throughout the residential camp, students have a chance to get a feel for what it’s like to be an Auburn Engineering student.

“The Senior Tigers camp is a fun-filled week," said Andrew McGill, administrator for student recruiting. "By the end, it is my hope our campers want to return to Auburn University and pursue an engineering degree."

Brooke Chandler, academic programs administrator, agrees.

“At the end of every program, it is so exciting to watch all the campers talk about their favorite engineering activities and majors," Chandler said. "I am glad to play a small part in introducing them to all that the College of Engineering has to offer."