On Wednesday, January 18, the Upper School hosted a Summer Opportunities Workshop for all interested students. The girls were provided information on employment, summer research, community service, and internships. Below is a summary of the information provided to students during this session.

As a student progresses through Upper School, each summer provides an opportunity for her to think thoughtfully about what she enjoys doing and learning about. Parents and students often ask if one summer activity is considered to “look better” than another. It matters less what the activity is and more about the story and context of that activity – why did she chose that activity, what did she learn from it, and how did it help her think critically about what matters to her?

The summer following 9th grade can be a time to regroup after the academic year, continue participation in a summer camp or volunteer experience, and travel with family. The summer following tenth grade can be a bit more structured, particularly if your daughter is developing a stronger sense of her academic interests and abilities. This could include a pre-college program on a college campus, an internship, volunteer work in the local community, or a job. We recommend that the girls engage in an activity the summer after junior year and often this activity relates to her interests for college. As the girls get older, this is also a summer where it may be a bit easier to gain employment. Many people point to high school summer jobs as a valuable experience with responsibility, earnings, and working with diverse groups of people. College admission officers give as much “credit” to students who have a job as to those who attend an organized study or research program.

There are a number of opportunities for Hockaday students to engage in research in STEM-related fields in the Dallas area. These opportunities include:

 

STARS: For rising seniors only, three students maximum, application due by Wednesday, February 1.

UT Southwestern: unrelated to STARS program, there may be spaces for rising seniors in a Neuroscience Lab

Southern Methodist University:  rising juniors and seniors are eligible for research in Physics, Chemistry, Biology labs

University of Texas at Dallas:  rising juniors and seniors and occasionally some rising sophomores can conduct research in Computer Science, Engineering, maybe Cognitive Psychology, maybe Biology pending availability.

 

There are also opportunities for students to engage in research at Hockaday. These opportunities are open to rising freshman - seniors and will take place in the afternoons for four weeks this summer from mid-June to mid-July. In 2017, this opportunity includes several projects focused on chemistry.

One such investigation, Nanoparticle Design, will involve working out procedures to produce nanoparticles that could ultimately be incorporated into the chemistry curriculum.

 

Students may access a list of nationwide summer research programs by logging on to Sharepoint. 

 

Once your daughter has decided that she would like to participate in any of the above options, she will sign a “Statement of Interest” contract, and Dr. Barb Fishel will help her find a place in a lab on a topic that interests her. Students should plan on being able to spend at least three-to-four weeks, five days a week, six-to-eight hours per day, if they want to work at SMU or UTD. If your daughter decides she wants to work in a particular lab, she will then sign a “Statement of Commitment” contract which will ensure that she has a spot, and has agreed to join that lab for part of the summer. If your daughter is interested in learning more about any of these possibilities, she should contact Dr. Fishel at bfishel@hockaday.org.

There are many service opportunities in which to participate over the summer. A list of these options were sent to Upper School Students via email from Ms. Day in earlier in January. These opportunities include internships as well as working at campus and other national and international service organizations. Students interested in learning more should contact Laura Day, Director of Service Learning.

There are several reputable programs which specialize in organizing and overseeing summer travel opportunities for students. The focus of these trips will vary from company to company and may include service, language immersion or cultural exploration. The destination and duration of each trip is also program specific. For information specific to international travel, feel free to contact Gary Stollar in our International Program Office.

In addition to faculty resources here at Hockaday, families can find a pre-populated list of summer programs on Family Connection. Located under the “Colleges” tab, “Enrichment Programs” contains a database that can be sorted by interest area. Please note: this is a national database that is managed by Hobsons, the parent company of Naviance.

As we shared with the students, summer can be a time of exploration, learning, play, and rest. We hope you find time to be together and wish you all a wonderful rest of the year.

Sincerely,

Courtney M. Skerritt

Director of College Counseling