SynaVoice SOL engages high school students with unique topics! New enrichment programs planned for the school year
Oakton, VA 22124
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July 30, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SynaVoice SOL is a virtual camp for high school students. Founded at the juncture of the COVID 19 quarantine crisis and the social movement to expose long-held systemic racism in our society, SynaVoice SOL aims to create an environment where campers of all backgrounds can meet to engage in interesting and thought-provoking conversations.
Julie Rothhouse, SynaVoice SOL Founder, commented, “Exposure to new ideas, concepts, and skills is critical during high school as students are poised to make decisions that will affect their college, career, and the rest of their lives. SynaVoice SOL creates a positive environment where students gain exposure to new and interesting topics and engage in conversations with other students from diverse backgrounds. Our session leaders present their content in dynamic ways that capture the imagination and interest of our campers.”
SynaVoice SOL leaders are nationally-known experts in their fields, and they engaged the campers with their stories, knowledge, information, tips, and humor. Sherhara Downing led Powerful Presence and she helped campers to develop a confident and memorable speaking style with their elevator speeches. Joe Stearns and Suzi Regan led Lights, Camera, Acting and shared business and auditioning tips with campers who got to practice a mock audition with the talent agents live on the last day. Matt Troyer and Ken Smith led Calling All Cars and explained, in easy-to-understand language, everything under the hood of the car. The campers designed a fleet of cars that were presented to the automotive experts on the last day of class.
Amy Kurzweil led The Art of the Graphic Narratives. She shared her process of writing and making comics and coached the campers to make their own comics. They shared their artwork and comics with her on the last day. James D. Diamond provided insight into the criminal justice system and debunked some myths using real case examples in True Crime. Tomorrow campers will meet with him and engage in a robust discussion about the legal issues in the cases. Next week in the last session, Curt Doty will lead campers in The Influence of Design. In this session, campers will learn the history of communications and design and develop their own logos with coaching from Curt. On the last day, they will present their logos for critique from Curt.
Matt Troyer, session leader for Calling All Cars, said, “it was great to see a diverse group of high school students joining together from across the country to participate in the time-honored tradition of summer camp. And it was remarkable to see technology allowing this camp to be held uniquely in a virtual environment with virtual cabins, but with the same involvement and spirit of learning, and engaging of others, that all summer camps have inspired.”
SynaVoice SOL plans to continue with innovative programming during the school year. Ms. Rothhouse stated, "Since quarantine will be a fact of life for us next year, we will continue to provide exposure and enrichment opportunities for high school students via the Zoom platform. We will be announcing our Fall programming shortly."
There is still time to register for The Influence of Design at the SynaVoice SOL website. SynaVoice SOL welcomes donations that enable us to sponsor a diverse group of students nation-wide. Crowd-sourced donations accepted at givebutter.com/SOLsponsor.
