By Jonathan Morales

June 18, 2024

Sacramento State’s popular Summer Youth Academies will soon get underway, bringing hundreds of local seventh- through 12th graders to the University for fun and hands-on career exploration, as well as a chance to experience life on a college campus.

The weeklong academies begin June 24 and run through Aug. 2 and include classes in popular and growing career fields such as fashion, criminal justice, artificial intelligence and education.

As many as 500 local kids are expected to participate, the most ever according to Anna Keck, director of Academic and Professional Programs in the College of Continuing Education (CCE). Most classes are offered on the Sac State campus.

“During COVID, everything was online, but now we're probably 80% in-person,” Keck said. “We're able to be really intentional with the modality that aligns with each class. But we're also seeing a real appetite from students to be on campus and have that live university experience, which is great."

CCE adds or revives new academies every year in response to class popularity and industry and cultural trends. New this year are Creating an Online Business, Creative Writing: Advanced Storytelling, Exploring Careers in Artificial Intelligence, and Critical Thinking: Thinking Your Way to Success.

The latter continues a plan, begun last year, to add academies that are not focused on one discipline, industry or career path. Such classes provide options for students who are unsure what they want to do or are interested in multiple subjects.

“There’s so much pressure on young people today to feel like they need to know in seventh grade what their major will be in college, what job they’re working toward, what grad program they’ll go into. It’s a lot of pressure,” Keck said. “We want to help them build out their safety net so they know they can be successful no matter which career or educational path they go into.”

Also new this year is a partnership with Sacramento State’s First Star Academy to provide two free classes to foster youth. The partnership is to provide greater access to the summer programs and expand the University’s already-strong support for children and students who have experienced the foster system.

CCE plans to consider other potential partnerships that can leverage its robust summer programs and reach more students, Keck said.

“There are so many organizations trying to do the same thing, so if we can partner and provide opportunities at no cost to students, that's a huge opportunity we're going to keep looking to expand in the future,” she said.

“There’s so much pressure on young people today to feel like they need to know in seventh grade what their major will be in college, what job they’re working toward, what grad program they’ll go into. It’s a lot of pressure. We want to help them build out their safety net so they know they can be successful no matter which career or educational path they go into.” -- Anna Keck, director of Academic and Professional Programs, College of Continuing Education

A fee is charged for each of the weeklong courses, but scholarships are available for students who need financial support to participate.

The academies are designed to be hands-on to make them fun, engaging and relevant. The Fashion Design Academy, for example, ends with a fashion show. Students in the 3D Printing and Design Academy will utilize the StingerStudio Makerspace to build a 3D solution to a design challenge. One academy, Fire and Emergency Services, will take place primarily at a fire station off campus.

Sacramento State faculty and alumni, and community members teach the classes. Many of the teachers have real-world experience in the career field or industry, such as the new instructor for Exploring Health Careers.

"She’s got an amazing background in health and nutrition, including serving on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and supporting Team USA at various events,” Keck said.

Though many popular classes are full, spaces remain available in others. For more information about Summer Youth Academies, including course offerings and schedule, visit the website.