With summer quickly approaching, plans for youth camps will bring exposure to Nicholls.

The Nicholls Continuing Education department has created a group of diverse summer programs for Kindergarten through eighth-grade students. These camps allow children to get a head start in learning.

The main program is called the Colonel Camper, which is an eight-week program and has two different portions. The first portion is academic based, which will prepare the youth for their upcoming school year. It focuses on the grade they will be attending in the fall to give them a helpful start to their learning. The second portion is called Colonel Camper Extreme where it is all day sports and activities. Children will be able to learn about the fundamentals of different sports and get to play them as well. This program has 200-250 youth participants and takes place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nicholls is also offering a variety of specialized camps. Kids in the Kitchen is a camp run by the dietetics faculty where children are taught to cook and learn how to develop a menu. The Nicholls Players will run a performing arts camp and feature a play written by one of Nicholls own students. There will also be an artist camp which will allow kids to create their own true watercolor paintings, tie-dye shirts and learn about different artists.
A brand new camp called Colonels in Action (CIA) will also be offered and is targeted for sixth through eighth graders. This camp will provide challenging opportunities and allow for the kids to have a voice in the activities they participate in. The camp will focus on things such as leadership skills, community service, social skills, team building etc. They will even have a 3D printer available to use. A camp for high school students is also in the works and will potentially be available for next summer.

A last chance camp is offered the last week of summer, which is limited to 52 students. Every day is a field trip in which they may go to the Global Wildlife Center, aquarium, laser tag etc.

Jason Eiermann, director of continuing education, explained how these camps are beneficial to Nicholls is many ways. The youth summer camps bring over 1 million dollars to the University. This is income directly for Nicholls State. Also, these camps are a good way of recruiting for Nicholls. Eiermann encourages any current students to welcome and talk to the youth at these camps.

“Those are all potential colonels in the future. Try to greet the kids and have fun with them,” Eiermann said.
There are student employment opportunities for these camps. There are 30-45 students hired to work over the summer. Interviews were conducted in February through early March. In addition to having student employees, the camp staff also includes Nicholls faculty and alumni.

“It’s great to be able to use our facilities and give Nicholls a lot more exposure by having all these camps here,” Eiermann said.
For more information about youth summer camps offered, registration, and prices, visit http://www.nicholls.edu/continuing-ed/. The website is continuously adding new programs and dates.