Over the summer, Saint Mary’s College hosted a myriad of summer camps and programs for young students ranging from elementary to high school with a record number of attendees. According to their website, Saint Mary’s College summer programs aim to implement the College’s mission “to empower women in all stages of life.”
While the College has offered a range of summer camps for over 40 years, 16 different programs were offered this summer and led by Saint Mary’s faculty, staff and student mentors. Some of these programs included youth programs for music and fine arts, sports programs and pre-college academic programs in healthcare, theology, forensics, business and more.
Gabriella Maxwell, the director of pre-college programs and strategic initiatives, reported a great portion of outreach from the College focuses on securing funding for student scholarships from donors on the individual, corporate and foundational levels.
“Among the many highlights, we were particularly pleased to provide over 280 scholarships this summer. Over 65 percent of all campers received financial assistance so they could take part in the programs,” Maxwell said.
A substantial portion of their funding this summer stemmed from a grant from the Lilly Foundation’s Indiana Youth Programs on Campus program, received in 2023. This grant allowed Maxwell and the pre-college and summer programs to “create a new department, develop new programs, engage faculty, create partnerships, elevate the program experience and provide generous scholarships.”
The pre-college programs, specifically geared towards high school students, offer college credit upon completion of the week-long overnight camp with Saint Mary’s.
“The programs are highly experiential, and students have the opportunity of career exploration, exposure to professionals in their areas, educational field trips and lectures and mentorship from SMC faculty and students,” Maxwell said. “Students in Pre-College programs also experience life in college, sleeping in our residence halls, eating together at the dining hall and enjoying signature evening events.”
These programs don’t just offer a college life experience to high school students. For sophomore Marina De Castro Vasconcelos, working for the pre-college and summer programs was her introduction to Saint Mary’s, and eventually the reason for her enrollment as a student.
“I met my boss at a Brazilian barbecue, Gabriella Maxwell … I was just finishing my senior year of high school, and I had a plan to go back home during the summer, because it was my first year in the United States. And she was like, ‘What are you going to do over the summer?’ and I was like, ‘I don't have plans, just going back home.’ And she offered me a job. I had not applied to any of the colleges here but I got the job,” De Castro Vasconcelos said.
While working with Maxwell and the pre-college and summer program, De Castro Vasconcelos said she fell in love with Saint Mary’s community and campus. It was then she decided to apply to the College.
“I applied here late June [of 2023] and got accepted in the middle of July, so everything was in a rush,” De Castro Vasconcelos said.
In her second year working with the summer programs, De Castro Vasconcelos was in charge of enrollment and entertainment.
“We worked pretty much the whole summer ... I got here around May 20, it was a lot of office work. I was calling a lot of the campers, people that had researched about it or they had registered for it but hadn't finished the registration,” De Castro Vasconcelos said. “Once they were here, we were just pretty much all available for them ... If they needed anything, I was usually the one running around camp, and just making sure everyone was happy.”
Though her role included all kinds of responsibilities to keep things running smoothly, her favorite facet of the job involved talking with the campers.
“It was just amazing talking to some of the current campers ... I loved hearing the testimonies that the girls had this week, and it was such a judgemental-free kind of zone. It was amazing how free they feel here and how they can be themselves,” De Castro Vasconcelos said. “It's a pretty rewarding thing.”
She encourages any prospective student, or anyone who knows of a prospective student, to consider attending a summer program and experience the Saint Mary’s community.
“If you’re not sure about it, but you're considering it, I would say just come, apply, and see how it feels like,” De Castro Vasconcelos said. “You get to eat in the dining hall, you get to sleep in one of the dorms, and you go to classes, you walk around campus. It's amazing.”
