NIU does not go to sleep during the summer months. It offers a variety of summer camps to middle- and high-school students which include a variety of experiences.

Variety

The university offers an array of summer camps that range in cost from $475-$495 for one week. On average, 3,000 students attend the sports camps, which totals about $1,485,000.

Katherine Wright, director of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences External Programming, said NIU does not profit from hosting these summer studies.

Though the camps are non-profit, the money goes toward the campers’ living expenses, instructors’ wages and to the publicity of the camps such in online advertising and schools.

“Providing programming is one way to give back to the taxpayers, considering we do programming that begins with kindergartners and continues by reaching out to groups of senior citizens,” Wright said.

Camps hosted at NIU include creative writing, speech, science, NIU jazz, visual arts experience, theater arts for juniors and seniors, athletic training, golf, baseball, softball, boys and girls basketball, wrestling, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading.

Experiences

Judy Santacaterina, an instructor in the department of communication, referred to the camps as somewhat of a “recruiting tool.”

“The camps contribute to my field by creating a cycle,” Santacaterina said. “We’ve had returning students come back for the last three summers. Alumni come back and help run the camps. I even had one student who came four years in a row, then applied to the university, graduated, became a coach and now, she sends her students to the summer camps here.”

NIU offers a $25 discount to students who are regular or repeat campers.

“I am attending volleyball camp this summer at NIU with three friends, but I am still excited about meeting new people there and getting better at playing,” said Nicole McDonald, a camper from Rockford. “This will be my first year attending. I chose NIU’s program because I’ve heard the most about it.”

Taste of college

The campers stay in Grant South and experience life in the residence halls. The students also are able to get familiar with the campus.

“I think that students choose NIU over other universities for their summer studies because NIU has a very strong academic representation,” Wright said. “Word of mouth also tells prospective campers that they’re in for a high-caliber, good, solid experience.”

Participating in these camps also may help students find direction by helping the campers decide what they will major in when they enter college.

Success rate

Anne Petty, a liberal arts and sciences external program coordinator, said in July that her department would look into launching foreign language camps which could include Japanese, Spanish and French.

However, a Spanish language and culture camp was canceled when it was met with little interest. Additionally, the journalism camp was condensed and will be mixed in this summer with the creative writing camp, Wright said. The history camp also has been canceled due to lack of interest.

For more information regarding the summer camps, visit www.niu.edu.