From poster presentations to a photo slideshow, Elon Academy scholars reflected on their recent work Friday during the closing ceremony for an enrichment program that brings some of Alamance County’s brightest high school minds to the university each summer for a college immersion experience.
Family and friends of students from all three classes attended the Whitley Auditorium event. While the program continues this fall with workshops at the university, for the oldest cohort in the Alpha class, the July 10 evening ceremony proved bittersweet as students completed their third and final season on campus.
“I don’t want to leave friends behind,” said Josh Fogleman, a rising senior at River Mill Academy and a member of the Alpha Class who plans to study for a doctorate in meteorology after high school. “I can’t wait to get back here for the Saturday programs each month in the fall.”
New this summer in the closing ceremony was a poster session on the second floor of Alamance. About a dozen scholars lined the walls of nearly every classroom to show family and guests tri-fold displays that held their reflections and some of the lessons they absorbed in their classes. The crowd from Whitley took a short walk next door to view the work.
Scholars screened short movies they composed as part of their “MTV 101” class. They displayed plants that had sprouted after planting seeds in a biology course. Most prevalent, however, were photos of scholars in various class settings or on field trips, smiles lighting up the images attached to the displays.
“I got to meet people and friends you really want to be around,” said Donnell Connally, a rising sophomore at Eastern Alamance High School and a member of the Gamma Class. “My favorite thing about the Academy would definitely be meeting new people, people you can relate to.”
As the ceremony came to a close, the top Elon Academy administrator lauded scholars for their work but reminded them that four weeks at the university isn’t enough.
“With the end of the summer portion of the program, the real work begins,” Deborah Long, a professor of education and director of the Elon Academy, said in her closing remarks to the students. “As we all return to our ‘regular’ lives, one of the most difficult things that we will face is taking this amazing and transformative experience back to our daily routines.
“This month has been a wonderful experience,” she said, “but the coming school year is when what you have learned will be put to the test. It is not enough to be a great student here at Elon – scholars must continue to be engaged, diligent scholars upon their return to school.”
Elon University launched the Elon Academy in 2006 to give students from local high schools the opportunity to embrace education, develop leadership skills and engage in various outreach venues.
Modeled after similar programs at Princeton, Furman and Vanderbilt universities, the Academy is a year-round program for students in the Alamance-Burlington School System who have financial need or have no family history of college attendance. It combines three intensive four-week summer residential experiences at Elon with a variety of academic activities throughout the school year.
Its goal is to inspire and empower students to attend four-year colleges or universities, and go on to assume leadership roles in their communities.
“The Elon Academy is the best experience I’ve ever had,” said Becca Conary, a rising junior at Western Alamance High School and a member of the Beta Class. “I feel really lucky to have been afforded this opportunity.”
Other scholars echoed her sentiments.
“I never knew I could make so many friends in so little time,” said Jonathan Garcia-Pena, a rising sophomore at Cummings High School and a member of the Gamma Class. “It was a big family. Everyone supports each other.”