This past year The Office of Precollege Programs at OSU was able to achieve its goals and make meaningful experiences for Oregon’s youth.
This year The Office of Precollege Programs offered 98 programs to Oregon’s youth which brought a total of 52,874 growth opportunities for Oregon’s youth. These programs engage students of all demographics in a large array of activities and subjects.
Along with the benefit to the K-12 students, Precollege Programs also provides valuable experience for OSU students, volunteers, teachers, and faculty across Oregon. Getting to interact with K-12 students in a way that will help shape them as students for the future doesn’t only look good on a resume but it feels good to be a part of.
A few highlights from this year are the Mobile STEM Camps and Campus Field Trips. Mobile STEM Camps is a program designed to bring STEM activities to student’s backyards. This program is crucial because there are a lot of rural communities in Oregon that don’t have access to STEM activities. Mobile STEM Camps allow OSU to engage with these rural communities and help their teachers and students interact in fun, engaging, and stimulating STEM focused activities.
One example of an activity commonly done at the camps is getting students to build solar powered cars made from K’nex. A group project like this introduces students to working in a group to achieve a real-world applicable goal. It also gives their teacher an opportunity to talk about renewable energy outside of a classroom setting.
This year, Mobile STEM Camps connected to 371 students in rural communities across Oregon. This was made possible with the help of 117 volunteers, OSU students, teachers, and parents or guardians.
The Office of Precollege Programs is very proud in the students we have here at OSU and their willingness and eagerness to help better the future for the rural communities and students of Oregon.
One of our other programs, Campus Field Trips, gives students and teachers the opportunity to come to OSU and tour the campus. During these tours they may tour campus, eat lunch in a dining hall, visit a cultural center or stop by an athletic facility, and have a presentation and participatory or hands-on activity presented by a faculty member, staff, or students meant to enhance school curriculum as well as expose students to potential majors or careers.
This year Campus Field Trips brought 9,801 students to OSU! This was done with only 41 OSU students working and giving tours to these kids.
As our programs continue to grow we look forward to working with new students and teachers across the state. The Office of Precollege Programs has a lot of programs for all types of students and we will continue to expand these programs to achieve our mission.
“Oregon State University’s Office of Precollege Programs (PCP) supports and oversees a wide range of youth outreach activities designed to increase the academic preparation of Oregon’s youth and prepare them for college. Programs ranging from summer science camps, to afterschool clubs, to research internships provide pathways to higher education and offer opportunities to enhance physical and mental well-being.”
