Everything Auburn podcast features summer learning, fun on the Plains

Why did Auburn have more than 4,000 middle and high school students on its campus recently? Logan McKissick with Auburn Youth Programs provides the answer in this month’s episode of the Everything Auburn podcast.

McKissick, the program developer for Auburn Youth Programs, is closely involved with the more than 100 programs that Auburn offers each summer, attracting thousands of students to AYP’s unique variety of academic, athletic and extracurricular summer camp offerings.

“Auburn Youth Programs runs mostly week-long academic camps,” McKissick said. “They’re usually geared toward high schoolers, and we really help coordinate hands-on, experiential learning all over campus. Our main goal is to help students find their passion and then hopefully decide if that’s a major or a career that they want to pursue.”

Auburn Youth Programs — an extension of University Outreach — is designed to educate and inspire youth in a variety of ways, and the experience is a fun and immersive one. Participants further their education and develop skills while making new friends and experiencing life at Auburn, with students from across the state of Alabama and the country meeting one another and experiencing campus-life while residing in Auburn's dorms, eating at campus dining facilities and enjoying evening social and recreational activities.

Young professionals benefit by experiencing the many programs offered by Auburn during the summer while also learning more about a field of study they might be interested in pursuing as a career. Each program is offered by an Auburn faculty or staff member, and programs cover nearly all age groups and vary across many disciplines of the university. That range includes architecture, art studio, aviation, building science, cooking, cheer and dance, creative writing, cyber security, engineering, fisheries, food science, forestry, industrial design, lacrosse, musical theatre, computer science, veterinary medicine and more.

McKissick, who prior to coming to Auburn coordinated programs for the YMCA of the Rockies in Rocky Mountain National Park, said she loves her role at Auburn and is always excited to see how the university’s summer programs change lives while providing students a fun and educational experience.

McKissick said her love for everything Auburn is rooted in her family connection to the Plains.

“I come from a family full of AU graduates who instilled a love of Auburn in me from the very beginning, and I love calling ‘The Loveliest Village on the Plains’ home,” she said.

To get connected to Auburn Youth Programs, McKissick suggested that those interested in attending a camp next summer should follow AYP on Instagram at the following account: @youthprogramsau