A Summer of Immersion for High Schoolers
Summer conferences from all three Centers of Excellence had students out in the field engaging in history, writing, conservation, and more.
In mid-July Washington’s campus was again abuzz with students as high schoolers from across the country attended three dynamic summer conferences, each offering a unique blend of the college life experience, specialized learning, and hands-on exploration. The Cherry Tree Young Writers' Conference, the Young Historians' Conference, and the Bay Science & Solutions Summer Conference provided eager young minds with an exciting glimpse into college-level academics and opportunities.
The Bay Science & Solutions Summer Conference, offered by the Center for Environment & Society (CES) in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, engaged 16 rising 10th-12th graders from D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virgina. The multi-day, overnight event combined tent camping at a Delaware state park with dormitory-style housing at Washington College. Immersing students in on-the-water activities and in-the-lab explorations, it provided a comprehensive college experience and adventure geared town Bay health and conservation.
Beth Choate, deputy director of CES, highlighted the conference's impact as it undertook its second year hosting students. "Bay Science and Solutions gives high schoolers a unique chance to experience what it means to be a scientist on the Chesapeake. We’re proud to provide a setting and experience where young people can explore the Bay’s challenges and foster the next generation of environmental change makers,” said Choate.
Participants engaged in activities like kayaking, wildlife habitat conservation efforts, and underwater exploration, leveraging the Chester River as a vital resource. They also toured the campus and the Washington College Center for Environment and Society (CES) program areas, including the Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall wet labs, and learned about the College’s Geospatial Innovation Program, watershed investigation, bird banding, nutrient networks, drones, soil health, and micro farming.
“One of the most rewarding parts of this camp is watching students connect the dots through experiential learning—collecting real data in the field and then understanding how that information can inform action,” noted Emma Cease, CES’ experiential learning program manager. “By the end of the camp, students leave with a deeper understanding of the Bay ecosystem and a sense of empowerment that they, too, can make a difference.”
Ella Kozlowski '26, a CES summer intern, found the program equally fulfilling. “As an intern, I was able to help pre-plan some of the students’ activities, and I loved seeing their excitement throughout the week as they explored the Chester River and worked in our labs at SG Hall. Watching their passion for the Bay grow each day was so rewarding. I also shared my own experience as a Washington College student and CES summer intern, and I hope it helped some of them imagine themselves pursuing this kind of work in the future!”
“I love being outdoors and was excited to explore the Eastern Shore for the first time,” said Brian Moore, a rising senior from Petersburg, Pennsylvania. “Touring the campus and staying in the dorms has been such a cool experience. I can really see myself doing this next year after high school.”
Mimi Klemek, a rising sophomore from Gaithersburg, Maryland, added, "This week has been so much fun and full of learning. I’ve always been interested in the environment, but I wanted to take the next step. I want to make an impact that goes beyond just picking up trash, and this week I’m learning other ways to help protect the place I call home."
Happening concurrently, the 10th annual Cherry Tree Young Writers' Conference welcomed 48 rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to hone their creative writing skills. Hosted by the Washington College Rose O’Neill Literary House, the conference emphasized its motto, “Write Your Truth,” fostering a supportive environment for aspiring poets, novelists, and journalists. Participants engaged in intensive workshops led by nationally renowned authors such as poet Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, fiction writers Raul Palma and Bushra Rehman, and journalist Matt Davis. Students also delved into literature discussions with Washington’s English department faculty, attended professional readings and craft panels, and explored opportunities in literary internships and college publications like Cherry Tree, Washington College's national literary journal. A highlight for many was the "Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay" workshop.
“I've had a really great time here at the Cherry Tree Conference,” said Kara Amerling, a rising senior from Bethany Beach, Delaware, who gushed about the great interns, writers, and professors she was able to work with throughout the week. “Just today, I had this really interesting workshop with a professor. We read poetry from Sappho and other women poets, and it was really endearing and eye-opening. I felt very intelligent being able to be in a room with all these really curious minds. I really enjoyed it. I feel like I'm growing as a writer.”
Fellow rising senior Audrey Chambers, hailing from Catonsville, Maryland, added, "I think that the conference gives a really good opportunity to people who are interested in English.” She noted that the conference provides students with an opportunity to expand on what they know as well as what they love.
Washington College students played a crucial role in Cherry Tree’s success by working as interns in the program, ushering high schoolers through the program events and courses and life on a college campus. Evelyn Lucado '26 commented, “It’s amazing to see so many young people who are passionate about writing come together to share their work. I feel very privileged to get to work with such a great group of students and interns, and faculty.”
Rounding out the week, the Young Historians' Conference, presented by the Washington College Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, offered 14 visiting students and two Washington College student leaders a backstage look into historical inquiry under the theme "History Off the Page: Making the Past Present." The annual program immerses students in hands-on work with original archival documents, oral history interviews with civil rights activists, and explorations of historic buildings and neighborhoods in Chestertown. A major highlight this year was an immersive underground experience of the U.S. Capitol campus during a road trip to Washington, D.C., a first for the conference. The D.C. trip also included specialty private tours at the National Archives as well as the Library of Congress.
Noah Bowman, a rising junior from Howard County in Maryland, became interested in joining the conference after touring Washington College’s campus last year. “I like to look into the past to see how much it can tell us about the future,” said Bowman, who is interested in studying history around environmental science and seeing how it can be utilized in making good environmental decisions in the future. “I like how hands-on everything has been. There was a lot of physical and visual situations rather than textbook learning.”
Sophia Pykett, a rising senior who is originally from England and has spent the last six years in the Cleveland, Ohio area, says she plans to major in history in college and wanted a summer program that looked at more than just American history. She noted how expansive the Young Historians program had proven to be, from surveying artifacts to taking walking tours, including exploring D.C. and the Library of Congress.
Starr Center Deputy Director Jaelon Moaney said the conference is intentionally organized to provide participants with the tools for historical research and an appreciation of the nuanced context surrounding historical events.
“The annual Young Historians Conference is designed with care to immerse growing minds in the notion that history exists and can be experienced beyond textbooks; the discipline itself embodies a living, breathing portal that affords intersectional connections through space and time,” Moaney said. “By getting hands-on with rare primary sources while sifting through archives, conducting oral histories with Maryland change agents whose legacies continue to inspire, and exploring the experiment of American democracy through the lens of the U.S. Capitol subway system, suddenly the past is presented anew as accessible to all.”
All three conferences provided students with a comprehensive college experience, including staying in dorms, eating at the Hodson Dining Hall, and participating in campus tours and social activities like scavenger hunts and bonfires. These programs not only deepened students' knowledge in their chosen fields but also offered a valuable preview of the vibrant academic and social life available at Washington College.
More information on our summer conferences is available on our admissions section.
- Dominique Ellis Falcon