Summer, winter, and spring breaks are great times for students to start exploring their interests for the future. Learning about different job opportunities and fields of study allows students to focus in on what they want to concentrate on in high school.

“This summer I went to a six week pre-college Carnegie Mellon camp about architecture. We worked on two group installations, and two individual projects.When I was signing up for the camp I thought six weeks was going to be a such a long time,” said Melinda Looney-Ho, 11.

“Now I wish I could have stayed longer. I met so many different people- I have good friends in Taiwan, Shanghai, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas.”

Pre-college camps give students a taste of what college will be like, as well as intensive experience on the camp’s particular subject. Students use these camps to decide what they would like to pursue in college.

“Each is unique and creative in a different way. Our camp was combined with other pre-college art camps including drama, music, art and design as well as a camp for high school students earning college credit,” said Looney-Ho.

Camps available range from art, science, engineering, math, and business. When students are able to spend focused time on a subject, it helps them narrow down what they want to do.

“When I stepped into the camp, I was also afraid we’d just be building little house models and floor plans. I hear that all architecture pre-college programs are different, but Carnegie Mellon’s focuses on the form and shape relating how best to fit the space you want people to experience,” said Looney-Ho.

Aside from camps, internships and volunteering are other ways to learn about different opportunities.