08-29-2006
From June 19-30, 41 students gathered at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) for Summit 2006: Learn. Lead. Achieve. This 2-week summer camp event brought together deaf and hard of hearing students from across the nation for Advanced Placement (AP) preview classes, leadership discussions and simulations, a journey through deaf history, and a weekend tour of Washington, DC.
“The exciting thing about this program is that it truly is a gathering of some of the brightest deaf students from across the country,” says Daniel Dukes, coordinator of Summit and MSSD’s honor’s program.
This year’s attendees represented a diverse group of students, from deaf schools and mainstream programs alike, attending from as far away as Wyoming and Maine. Participants were housed in the MDDS dorms for the duration of the event.
This is the second year that MSSD has run the camp since its conception in 2005. Attendance rose this year from 33 students to 41, with 18 of the students returning for a second experience.
Returning students were privileged to take place in special Summit: Extreme activities including an “Exploration of Psychology” course and several other special activities.
“Many of the students informed me that they enjoyed this part and hoped to take the class again next year,” Dukes says.
All of the 41 attending students participated in a rotating schedule of classes taught by MSSD staff, including AP US history, AP biology, AP English, literature and film, and introduction to filmmaking. Students were also treated to a nighttime tour of Washington, DC’s monuments, a day at Six Flags amusement park, a trip to the National Aquarium, and a trip to Arlington National Cemetery.
“It was a wonderful camp with some very intelligent and motivated future leaders who will be successful in whatever they choose to attempt,” Dukes says.
Dates for Summit 2007 have not yet been set. For more information, visit http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Honors/summit-2006.html.
[SOURCE: Gallaudet University, August 2, 2006]
