Launching Dreams with LEAD Summer Camp

This Tiger Giving Day, the Learners Exploring Academic Dreams (LEAD) initiative through Auburn’s Truman Pierce Institute in the College of Education is raising funds to provide 30 students (rising 9th through 12th graders) with a unique week-long summer camp learning opportunity on the campus of Auburn University.

Through the camp, students who might not otherwise have a chance to experience all Auburn offers will explore the university while developing the skills they need to be admitted and successful in college and later in life.

The camp provides students from partnering schools—including Loachapoka, Notasulga and LaFayette High School—an opportunity to witness firsthand academic programs through hands-on activities with campus partners in the week-long residency program. 

“Through this program, we provide students from our partnering schools the opportunity to visit campus each year, offering them firsthand exposure to college life and resources,” said Jason Bryant, clinical professor and director of the Truman Pierce Institute at Auburn’s College of Education.  “Our goal is to inspire and equip them with the knowledge and experiences needed to confidently plan their future.”

The program’s Tiger Giving Day goal is $20,000 to provide 30 students with this exceptional out-of-classroom summer opportunity. Gifts received beyond that goal will further grow the number of students who can attend in the future as the college would love to have this program sustained for years to come.

Program content includes everything from social activities to creative writing opportunities to team-building sessions, art exploration, enhancement of computer skills, campus tours, practice test-taking sessions, study skills development, and meetings with admissions, financial aid, student activities, and other key campus-based programs. 

To know the success of the program, one only needs to meet Will Brown, a past LEAD camp attendee who ultimately attended Auburn University, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Today, he now works as a program coordinator for LEAD and credits his camp experience for leading him on the path to success. 

“LEAD camp was very instrumental in my decision to attend Auburn,” he said. “While at LEAD camp, I got to see the best of the best in facilities, meet professors and have an opportunity to sit in on lectures. It was all a great opportunity.” 

Brown and Bryant hope you’ll give this Tiger Giving Day to the LEAD camp project, helping open the doors of opportunity to others in fulfillment of the College of Education’s mission of building a better future for all.