By Courtney Gilmartin

Academically gifted middle-schoolers from Osceola County challenged themselves and learned about the opportunities higher education can offer them during a four-day UCF summer camp modeled after the famed Duke Talent Identification Program.

The Duke University program offers the nation’s brightest youngsters summer studies, scholar weekends and opportunities to take the SAT with high school students.

UCF’s version of the program gave 55 incoming eighth-graders the unique chance to think and learn at a college level. From June 8 to 11, participants attended interactive educational sessions with UCF faculty and met with students and staff to learn about the academic and extracurricular opportunities college can offer them.

Osceola County Schools Superintendent Michael Grego approached the UCF College of Education with the idea for a talent-based program for college-bound middle schoolers as a way to help give his high achievers more opportunities to experience college.

The college loved the idea. Jennifer Platt, executive associate dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education, and her team helped make Grego’s idea a reality.

The program is “a great way to identify talented middle-school students,” said Platt. “UCF’s goal for the program is to give these talented, college-bound middle school students a ‘college experience’ at UCF.”

Osceola educators are thrilled because they say that once the students see what college is like, they realize that higher education is attainable.

“Almost all middle schoolers who go to a college summer camp go to college,” said Debbie Fahmie, a member of the Osceola County Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Department and music teacher at Cypress Elementary School.

This year’s program, called “Reach for the Stars,” split students into four teams named after space shuttles.

Students attended sessions about physics in Hollywood, oyster reef restoration, exploring the past, chemistry, engineering, undergraduate research, computer science and forensic anthropology, along with academic talks about exploring majors and beginning successful academic careers. The week closed with a “UCF Knights Student Panel,” which gave the middle schoolers the chance to ask involved Knights questions about student life. There were also visits to Student Housing and a tour of Brighthouse Stadium.

“It makes me feel excited,” said Brianna Bonilla, a Kissimmee Middle School student, of spending a week at UCF. “There are a lot of things to do.”

The program already seems to be working.

“In college, you learn exactly what you want to do,” said Jeremy Beesley, a student at St. Cloud Middle School.

Students, faculty and others from the Colleges of Education, Sciences, and Engineering and Computer Science volunteered throughout the week to make the program a success. Volunteers from Student Development and Enrollment Services, the Burnett Honors College, the Student Government Association, LEAD Scholars, Career Services, Undergraduate Research, the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, the Student Academic Resource Center, Housing, and Athletics also helped.