Transformative two-week summer enrichment program ignites passion for lifelong learning, success for all students
When middle schoolers first arrive for Kids College at Indiana University Northwest, Sarah Morris asks a simple question.
“I always start by asking, ‘How many of you enjoy learning?’ And there are crickets,” said Morris, director of IU Northwest’s Kids College. “Then, come the last day, I ask the same question and every kid’s hand is up in the air.”
This profound transformation — that enjoyment and excitement for education — is one of the goals of the two-week college enrichment program. Kids College returned to IU Northwest in 2023 after a multi-year hiatus and has since expanded to several other IU campuses, including Columbus, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Kokomo and South Bend.
This year, approximately 70 students spent two weeks on IU Northwest’s campus getting an authentic college experience with hands-on education in a subject matter of their choice — medicine, visual arts, performing arts, technology, civic leadership or business.
They spent two days with Best Buy’s Geek Squad Academy learning digital literacy skills. Both students and their parents also learned about the 21st Century Scholars Program, a statewide initiative that provides up to four years of undergraduate college tuition and support to income-eligible students.
That knowledge, Morris said, is key to showing students and their families that college is not only an option, but a real possibility for everyone.
“We’re showing, not just the students but the families as a whole, that they can be successful in education, that there’s a place for them,” Morris said. “IU has the people and the resources to help all of these students and their families succeed at college.”
And Kids College doesn’t just tell students they can succeed — it shows them.
Marcus Henderson Jr., a Gary native and IU Northwest alumnus who works at DaVita Kidney Care in the city, attended Kids College as a child. He shared his story with the students, telling them how he wanted to be a football player but his path changed. He explained that you should reach for your dreams, but sometimes your life story changes.
With an open mind and a strong education, you’ll always have an opportunity to do what makes you happy.
“Kids College is giving these kids an opportunity to expand their knowledge, get an accelerated step ahead,” Henderson Jr. said. “All of these kids are going to be able to come back and be a great asset to our community and I just can’t wait to see what their futures hold.”
With other IU campuses adopting the Kids College program, Henderson Jr. says it’s “phenomenal” that middle schoolers around the state are getting the same opportunities.
It truly is an opportunity unlike any other.
Jamie Dumas, a 12-year-old student at St. Mary Catholic Community School in Crown Point, Indiana, had so much fun last year that she returned this summer.
Dumas, who participated in the performing arts major, dreams of one day becoming the President of the United States or a lawyer. Kids College has given her the confidence to do whatever she wants.
“It helped me know what to expect when you come to college,” Dumas said. “If you don’t go to Kids College, you might be like ‘Oh my gosh, I never saw this, I’m not ready for this.’ When you are in Kids College, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve done this before.’ … It’s opened so many doors for me.”
The program wouldn’t be successful without the help of IU Northwest faculty and staff, community experts and IU Northwest students who serve as ambassadors to keep everything running smoothly.
One of those student ambassadors, fourth-year social work student Xochilth Villa from Hobart, Indiana, has helped with Kids College over the past three years. As a first-generation college student, she’s glad these students have the opportunity to experience college like few middle schoolers can.
“I didn’t know how I was going to pay for college. I didn’t even know college was in reach (for me),” Villa said. “I think right now is the perfect age to introduce what college can be for them.”
Not all of the students participating in Kids College will pursue careers in medicine, business or performing arts. But the experience and showing them education can help them reach their goals is something that is near impossible to replicate through other summer enrichment programs.
“To be an example for these students is an honor,” said Naja Gbala, performing arts instructor, local teacher and musician. “I believe that these kids will continue to reach for their goals as long as Kids College is standing tall.”
Kids College is more than just a summer program. It fosters a love for learning, demystifies stigmas about college and empowers young minds to envision and pursue their dreams. After all, these dreams will, one day, shape the future of the communities across the state of Indiana and beyond.
