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Penn State Fayette camps benefit area youth By Melanie Dawn Thomas
	Penn State Fayette Continuing Education kept area children occupied with fun and educational summer camps during the campus’ Fayette County Housing Authority Summer Camps for Kids.   Youths ages 8 to 16 spent four weeks learning how to use computers in Penn State Fayette’s many computer labs, as well as exploring science in the campus’ laboratories.   Kim Dillinger, co-coordinator of the camps, said, “It’s exciting to see how much the kids are comprehending so quickly. Even the younger kids are really catching on. It’s also great to see the kids helping each other. That type of teamwork was an ideal of ours, and it’s exciting to see them work together. They are excited to be on a college campus, they are getting an introduction to higher education and they are having a great time—it’s wonderful.”   According to Joe Segilia, Penn State Fayette director of Continuing Education and Outreach, the program was initiated in summer 2001 after the local housing authority requested proposals for summer camp programs for youths residing at the housing communities. Penn State Fayette was awarded the contract and worked with site coordinators at each of the housing communities to create a six-week camp program on campus in which students studied topics such as art, theatre, computers, science and business. The Fayette County Housing Authority program is different from the campus’ other summer camps and the summer Kids in College program, which has a more diverse schedule and is open to the community.   Dave Peters is administrative assistant at the Fayette County Housing Authority (FCHA) and coordinator of the FCHA Summer Camps for Kids funding source, a federal grant from the Housing and Urban Development Public Housing Drug Elimination Program. The Public Housing Drug Elimination Program uses a “weed and seed” focus, using funds to institute security techniques to keep crime away from the communities, as well as put positive opportunities in place for residents.   Penn State Fayette is involved in several such programs, including the Rural Online Computer Centers program, which provides Internet and computer equipment and training to residents of communities in need.   “Our goal is to put forth a very positive opportunity for youth in our communities to experience a genuine college setting and set a basis for lifelong skills,” Peters said. “Kids have many choices during the summer months, and these kids have chosen the Penn State Fayette choice, to have fun and learn something valuable in computers and science.”   He added, “Penn State Fayette provides the exact environment we were looking for to raise the kids’ expectations of themselves. The campus, as the area’s only degree-granting institution, provides access to the best facilities and finest faculty in this area.”   Students in the Fayette County Housing Authority program were chosen based on their enthusiasm and participation in the Rural Online Computer Centers at several communities.   The campers studied introductory and advanced computers and science. At the beginning of the program, the participants were given a pretest, and the curriculum was then tailored to their individual competencies.   The program was comprehensive, including a healthy lunch and a variety of instructors to keep the days interesting.   “From what I’ve seen, the instructors for the camp, including Jim Natale, exhibit the ingredient I like to see in teachers—the ability to transfer their enthusiasm for the subject to the students. Jim and the other instructors know their subjects exceedingly well, and Penn State Fayette did a phenomenal job of providing such talented faculty,” Peters said.   At the end of each camp, the students were again tested to determine the success of the instruction and “were presented with a certificate of achievement for their hard work.   “We were very pleased to provide this program to the kids for a variety of reasons,” Segilia said. “Through this program, our Continuing Education Department is adhering to our mission of community service and the University’s mission of service. Also, this program is giving these young people opportunities they otherwise would not have had, and it is introducing them to a college setting for the first time. I hope that many will now also be interested in the computer and science fields as possible career goals and have the confidence that they can, and have already, succeeded.”   Added Peters, “If just a couple of these children catch that enthusiasm and fire, then the program has been an outstanding success.”
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu