Students get a taste of college

Friends participate in THINK program

Henderson residents Rhea Conlu and Courtney Mejer spent a month of their summer living in residence halls at the University of Nevada, Reno, writing papers, taking exams and learning Japanese under the guidance of their professors.

While many students take summer courses to earn extra credits toward their degrees, few do it at 15 and 13 years old.

The girls, among the brightest in their schools, were part of the first annual THINK Summer Institute, sponsored by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a nonprofit education organization based in Reno.

Conlu and Mejer, friends who volunteer together at the Gibson library, were two of 18 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders from across the country to participate in three weeks of rigorous college life, studying at a pace meant for students years older than them.

From July 11-31, with a total of 15 days spent in class, the students earned seven college credits, studying Japanese and their choice of journalism or chemistry.

Marie Capurro, director of the Davidson Institute, lived with the children in the residence halls.

"This wasn't just a regular summer program. These are extremely bright kids who are technically ready to go to college," she said. "We tried to create for them what the college experience is like, in particular what the experience is like at UNR."

One of the goals of the THINK program is not only to offer higher education opportunities for local students, but also to retain those students at a Nevada university.

"Our state in general has what they call a brain drain problem," Capurro said.

According to Capurro, many local high school graduates leave Nevada to attend school elsewhere.

"A lot of kids are looking for new opportunities and are not aware how outstanding the university system is here in Nevada," she said.

The students had access to everything UNR students have, including identification numbers, orientations and campus tours. Half the kids chose chemistry, completing extensive lab work, while the other half chose journalism, developing Web sites and refining writing skills.

Capurro said Japanese was a mandatory subject because the Davidson Institute encourages kids to take on new challenges, and most likely the kids would not have been exposed to the language before.

"We wanted to offer classes that were very challenging and get them involved in something brand new," she said.

The THINK kids also were invited to take part in recreational activities with trips to outdoor plays at Lake Tahoe and concerts in Reno.

Conlu, 15, is preparing to start her sophomore year at Foothill High School. Because she just spent three weeks learning a semester's worth of college material, she feels more confident about her upcoming high school schedule.

"We were so involved and really focused, so I was able to finish everything," she said. "I have better time management skills now."

Students considered for the THINK Summer Institute must have SAT scores equivalent to those of college freshman or must be in the upper percentile of their class.

Conlu is the latter. In the 99th percentile at her school, she said it's been a while since she earned a grade lower than an A.

"I really like math and just love learning overall," she said.

In addition to Japanese, Conlu also studied journalism. She said her group visited Reno newspaper offices and radio stations.

"The whole experience was great actually. We were in dorms and they took really good care of us, and the assignments were pretty fun," she said. "The professors were great and taught us at a faster pace but we still got to learn a lot."

Conlu plans to study medicine in college but juggles many interests in high school, including chess and the business club. She is also a member of the Young Adults Konnecting Krew, or YAK, at the Gibson Library, helping to coordinate library activities for kids.

Mejer is also a member of the YAK Krew and suggested Conlu participate in the THINK program after her teacher at the private Lake Mead Christian Academy told her about the program.

The 13-year-old is about to start the eighth grade and was accepted into the THINK Summer Institute with a seventh-grade SAT score of more than 700.

Mejer also chose journalism over chemistry but said studying Japanese was the most time-consuming.

"It was very challenging but also fun," she said. "The whole thing was totally different from anything I've experienced."

Mejer, who hopes to join the U.S. Air Force Academy, also is feeling more confident about the upcoming school year.

"If I focus on something, I know I can achieve it," she said.


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