School may be out for the summer, but Greenville Renaissance Scholars is always in when it comes to academic and artistic enrichment for middle school students.
The mission of GRS is to inspire, motivate and prepare students to succeed on a college track through academic enrichment, college planning, leadership training, arts programming and community experiences.
To that end, the GRS Summer Camp gives students — rising 6th-9th graders — the opportunity to engage in learning and other activities over the course of four weeks that will propel them to even greater potential for academic achievement and post-secondary success.
It will culminate at 6 p.m. Friday with the GRS Showcase at E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center where the scholars will put their artistic and musical talents on display for attendees.
GRS president Andrea Fisher pointed out that sending children to a university summer camp can be quite costly for parents considering the expenses that come with travel, food and the camp fees.
However, GRS’ four-week summer camp offers the instruction of math, English and science from certified teachers, Monday through Thursday.
Fridays are designated for all expense paid field trips to college campuses and other educational attractions to expose students to university life.
“We believe that the arts help the students to get focused, disciplined and stimulate creativity and appreciation for beauty. So, in the afternoon, the children engage in art activities which this year are art, music, drawing and dancing,” Fisher highlighted. “They have a full package and it’s only $100 per student.”
This past Friday, the scholars traveled to Little Rock to visit Philander Smith College and the Museum of Discovery.
Krystal Brown, a GRS instructor, recalled GRS’ field trip to USG earlier this month.
“The field trip was very insightful for the GRS students. It entailed information from their engineering staff about the origins of the company, the natural renewable resources that the company uses to create their products and how important their products and services are in everyday life,” said Brown. “The students learned that the company is global and that they offer internship opportunities for their staff. This benefits the students greatly because they had the opportunity to meet with the executives of the international USG company while having a scholarly hands-on experience with the real material that the company uses to conduct business.”
She said further, “The students walked away with safety goggles, real sheetrock and earplugs as a result of their on site tour.”
Brown described The Millsaps College tour in Jackson as “special” and pointed out how well organized the guided campus tour was.
“The students learned about the history of Millsaps and its modern desired student outcomes. They learned that the campus is multi-cultural and that its graduating students are known for making the highest pay in comparison to that of graduates from other companies,” she said. “They visited the student union, library, campus chapel and the founding fathers monument as well as the infamous Mahat Magundi “good luck” statue.”
Fisher also highlighted GRS’ partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as several scientists and engineers came to the summer camp to conduct hands-on demonstrations.
“We hope to instill interest in sciences and in particular, agricultural sciences,” she said, noting a recent visit from Mississippi State University’s extension agent for Washington County, Tinu Osho, who is promoting agricultural sciences in local high schools.
Fisher wants students to have an accurate understanding of what agricultural sciences entails so they won’t subscribe to any misconceptions about the field.
“They sometimes have their own ideas that agriculture is just going to the fields in the hot sun, but agricultural science is not that way — there are people that never set foot in the fields because they are in the labs doing DNA for different productions such as corn, cotton, soybeans and other crops,” she explained. “It’s technology oriented and the salaries are good.”
With many of those in such roles retiring, Fisher finds it advantageous for GRS participants to pursue scholarships and opportunities that lend themselves to entering into and completing programs in the agricultural science field, and, have the potential to acquire a well-paying job.
Overall, GRS provides the opportunity of a summer camp because of the collective belief that if a good foundation in middle school for math, science and English, then high school will not be so difficult.
Students can take Algebra I as early as eighth grade and are required to take state tests in the areas of math, English and science.
“The other thing is the students in our community don’t get exposed to universities until really late in high school. So, I think it’s important for our students to think about how university life would be when they go to visit a university,” Fisher said.
Summarily, GRS aims to instill the love of learning so students won’t just be content with passing a grade, but with mastering the knowledge they gain.
GRS depends on donations from individuals and sponsor organizations to continue its work of providing opportunities to greater Greenville area scholars.
The United Way of Washington County, King’s Daughters and Sons Circle #2 and the Steve Azar St. Cecilia Foundation have played an integral role in GRS continuing that mission.
For more information about Greenville Renaissance Scholars and its programs or to contribute to GRS, visit gvillescholars.org.
