Pre-College Program Schedule

In this mini-course/workshop students will identify their leadership skills and improve them with techniques and activities. There will a focus on the important role of communication in effective leadership.

Instructor: Renee Thomas-Woods

This course will help students discover their leadership, communication, and problem-solving strengths while learning how to translate those skills onto paper for the college application process. Students will work with admissions counselors to build a strong resume, learn tips and tricks for the college application, and prepare for the college essay. Students will end this course feeling confident when they begin to apply to college with the tips and tools necessary to shine and set themselves apart during the admissions process.

Instructors: Taylor Malayer and Aaron Sandel

In this course, students will embark on an immersive journey into the exciting world of business ownership. We will work from the business idea generation stage to marketing the product or service and, finally, the investor pitch stage (as seen on Shark Tank). This course will equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge to bring their innovative ideas to life. By engaging in hands-on activities and group discussions, students will learn to identify and evaluate market opportunities, conduct market research, customer segmentation, value proposition creation, and, if time allows, develop a comprehensive business plan. They will explore the intricacies of defining their unique value proposition and creating a compelling brand. They will also delve into branding and marketing, learning to create a strong brand identity, craft compelling marketing messages, and select the most appropriate channels to reach their target audience. To effectively promote their offerings, they will explore various marketing strategies and tactics, such as social media marketing, content creation, and influencer partnerships. We will also dive into the financial aspects of starting a business, including creating financial projections, understanding basic accounting principles, and exploring various funding options. They will also learn the art of pitching their ideas to potential investors and stakeholders, focusing on persuasive communication and storytelling techniques. Upon completing the course, students will have a solid foundation in entrepreneurship and the confidence to pursue their startup dreams. They will leave with a well-developed business plan, a network of supportive peers, and the skills necessary to navigate the exciting journey of turning their ideas into reality.

Instructor: Amy Eremionkhale

In this mini-course/workshop students will identify their leadership skills and improve them with techniques and activities. There will a focus on the important role of communication in effective leadership.

Instructor: Renee Thomas-Woods

Songwriting is a craft that makes use of simple but poetic language set to music. You don't have to be a musical genius to write good songs, but you should enjoy music and love playing around with language. Your song lyrics may be deadly serious or plain silly, or anything in between. In this two-day songwriting workshop, you will create rough drafts of lyrics to at least two songs, and learn something about how lyrics may be set to music.

Instructor: Ron Dye

Embark on a dynamic journey through the world of filmmaking with this intensive production course designed to ignite creativity and hone technical skills. Delve into the captivating realm of visual storytelling as you master the art of wielding cameras and audio equipment. Through hands-on practice and expert guidance, you'll craft your very own short film, showcasing not just your creativity, but also your unique insights. Join us and bring your cinematic vision to life!

Instructor: Dahee Yun

In this course, students will embark on an immersive journey into the exciting world of business ownership. We will work from the business idea generation stage to marketing the product or service and, finally, the investor pitch stage (as seen on Shark Tank). This course will equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge to bring their innovative ideas to life. By engaging in hands-on activities and group discussions, students will learn to identify and evaluate market opportunities, conduct market research, customer segmentation, value proposition creation, and, if time allows, develop a comprehensive business plan. They will explore the intricacies of defining their unique value proposition and creating a compelling brand. They will also delve into branding and marketing, learning to create a strong brand identity, craft compelling marketing messages, and select the most appropriate channels to reach their target audience. To effectively promote their offerings, they will explore various marketing strategies and tactics, such as social media marketing, content creation, and influencer partnerships. We will also dive into the financial aspects of starting a business, including creating financial projections, understanding basic accounting principles, and exploring various funding options. They will also learn the art of pitching their ideas to potential investors and stakeholders, focusing on persuasive communication and storytelling techniques. Upon completing the course, students will have a solid foundation in entrepreneurship and the confidence to pursue their startup dreams. They will leave with a well-developed business plan, a network of supportive peers, and the skills necessary to navigate the exciting journey of turning their ideas into reality.

Instructor: Amy Eremionkhale

Embark on a dynamic journey through the world of filmmaking with this intensive production course designed to ignite creativity and hone technical skills. Delve into the captivating realm of visual storytelling as you master the art of wielding cameras and audio equipment. Through hands-on practice and expert guidance, you'll craft your very own short film, showcasing not just your creativity, but also your unique insights. Join us and bring your cinematic vision to life!

Instructor: Dahee Yun

Plays and screenplays are the blueprints or maps for future films, television shows and stage plays, and begin as words written on the page. In this workshop students will learn how to write short scripts by improvising on the page the same way actors and musicians improvise improvise in real space. Students will work with each other to improvise rough drafts which can be revised into more developed short scripts in any dramatic genres, including comedies, fantasies or historical dramas.

Instructor: Ron Dye

 Let's talk branding! Did you know that you have a brand?  Branding is just another way to talk about your character! In this session, we will discuss how to be a Fire Brand and leverage your social capital while in high school and college to set yourself up for success. 

Instructor: Rhyan Smith

For millennia, the greatest thinkers and writers in human history have grappled with the question “what does it mean to ‘live well’?” For Greek and Roman philosophers, the question was centered on the concept of “the good life” or “the examined life.” But what is “goodness”? What needs to be known or practiced to live well, and how does “examining” our lives lead to fulfillment? For some, living well means living with restraint and moderation, seeking to limit bodily pleasure in order to purify the heart and elevate the mind. For others, living well means quite the opposite: getting the most out of our short time on Earth and seeking pleasure wherever it can be found. For secular activists as well as devout practitioners of many world religions, living well requires working actively to improve the lives of others instead of focusing solely on the self. In today’s world, we are often told that “happiness,” “balance,” and “wellness” are central to a life well lived. But what is “wellness” as we use the term today, and how should we process the reality that our physical bodies will inevitably become old, unwell, and broken over the course of our lives? This course explores all of these ideas and more as we seek to define for ourselves what it means to “live well.”

Instructor: Amity Reading

Songwriting is a craft that makes use of simple but poetic language set to music. You don't have to be a musical genius to write good songs, but you should enjoy music and love playing around with language. Your song lyrics may be deadly serious or plain silly, or anything in between. In this two-day songwriting workshop, you will create rough drafts of lyrics to at least two songs, and learn something about how lyrics may be set to music.

Instructor: Ron Dye 

This course will help students discover their leadership, communication, and problem-solving strengths while learning how to translate those skills onto paper for the college application process. Students will work with admissions counselors to build a strong resume, learn tips and tricks for the college application, and prepare for the college essay. Students will end this course feeling confident when they begin to apply to college with the tips and tools necessary to shine and set themselves apart during the admissions process.

Instructors: Taylor Malayer and Aaron Sandel

Master Your Mindset: Maximize Your Potential is a 2 day course where we will explore a variety of topics to learn more about best practices for self care in your first year of college to achieve success throughout your collegiate career.

Instructor: Troyanna Jefferson

Ready to unlock the boundless potential of your creativity and imagination? Step into the realm of experimental animation with our transformative course designed to unleash your inner video virtuoso. Regardless of your drawing abilities or prior animation knowledge, this immersive journey invites everyone to become a maestro of animated storytelling. From dynamic stop motion to captivating collage, and a myriad of innovative editing techniques, you'll explore a tapestry of creative avenues. Join us and elevate your narratives to new heights, as you breathe life into your wildest imaginings through the captivating art of animation.

Instructor: Dahee Yun

All writing is spiritual writing, in a way, if it comes from the depths--in the same way that any music that comes from the depths can be a kind of "soul music." But spiritual writing, like soul music, is also known for a particular kind of sound--a vulnerable, tender, howl of a sound. It is a sound that lacks the certainty of preaching; a sound that may incorporate ancient chords, but may defy convention. Unfortunately, spiritual writing is often saccharine, and often sanctimonious...which are two different ways of saying it's often very bad. But however risky it may be to write from/about the soul--it can be done. In this course, you will read from some of the masters across traditions, and get a chance to write about the one area in which you are the world's foremost expert: your own soul. 

Instructor: Jonathan Martin

In this course, we will learn what Leadership is, what it means, and how each of us can be an effective leader. Leadership is a skillset, and we all have both the capacity to grow our skillets and use our Leadership skills to impact the people around us. We will dive into learning what Values are most important to us, on an individual level, and we will learn WHY these Values are important to us, and how we can learn to actively use our Values to be influential Leaders. By the end of the course, each student will be able to define what Leadership means to them, and be able to define the Values that are most important to them. Finally, each student will be able to articulate how their Leadership and Values can leave a lasting impact on any Culture they are a part of.

Instructor: Cristin Allen

This course will help students discover their leadership, communication, and problem-solving strengths while learning how to translate those skills onto paper for the college application process. Students will work with admissions counselors to build a strong resume, learn tips and tricks for the college application, and prepare for the college essay. Students will end this course feeling confident when they begin to apply to college with the tips and tools necessary to shine and set themselves apart during the admissions process.

Instructors: Taylor Malayer and Aaron Sandel

Ciphers and secret codes are fun ways to send and receive important information while keeping them secret from unwanted sources. In this course, you'll have fun with creating and deciphering messages using methods of encrypting and decrypting messages.

Instructor: Suman Balasubramanian

Students will learn how social activism in sports can drive change, and examine equality and inclusion in sport through modern day examples.

Instructor: Stevie Baker-Watson

Ciphers and secret codes are fun ways to send and receive important information while keeping them secret from unwanted sources. In this course, you'll have fun with creating and deciphering messages using methods of encrypting and decrypting messages.

Instructor: Suman Balasubramanian

Let's talk branding! Did you know that you have a brand?  Branding is just another way to talk about your character! In this session, we will discuss how to be a Fire Brand and leverage your social capital while in high school and college to set yourself up for success. 

Instructor: Rhyan Smith

Students will learn how social activism in sports can drive change, and examine equality and inclusion in sport through modern day examples.

Instructor: Stevie Baker-Watson

Which is bigger the sun or the moon? How big is our solar system? Where are we in the universe? In this course we will take some time to uncover where we fit in the cosmos through hands-on discovery. We will create a scale model of the planets and the solar system on DePauw’s campus. Students will have the opportunity to discover how astronomers can measure distances across the universe and how we can tell what is inside a star on the far side of the Milky Way or in the outer reaches of the observable universe. These ideas (amongst many others) help us to understand our place in the stars.

Instructor: Avery Archer

All writing is spiritual writing, in a way, if it comes from the depths--in the same way that any music that comes from the depths can be a kind of "soul music." But spiritual writing, like soul music, is also known for a particular kind of sound--a vulnerable, tender, howl of a sound. It is a sound that lacks the certainty of preaching; a sound that may incorporate ancient chords, but may defy convention. Unfortunately, spiritual writing is often saccharine, and often sanctimonious...which are two different ways of saying it's often very bad. But however risky it may be to write from/about the soul--it can be done. In this course, you will read from some of the masters across traditions, and get a chance to write about the one area in which you are the world's foremost expert: your own soul.

Instructor: Jonathan Martin

Embark on a rhythmic journey with our Percussion Ensemble course, where students dive into the vibrant world of percussive exploration. Our Percussion ensemble course provides the percussion student with the opportunity to rehearse a variety of percussion ensemble literature and wraps up with an informal performance. There will be one hour of a four-mallet technique workshop.

Instructor: Ming-Hui Kuo

Which is bigger the sun or the moon? How big is our solar system? Where are we in the universe? In this course we will take some time to uncover where we fit in the cosmos through hands-on discovery. We will create a scale model of the planets and the solar system on DePauw’s campus. Students will have the opportunity to discover how astronomers can measure distances across the universe and how we can tell what is inside a star on the far side of the Milky Way or in the outer reaches of the observable universe. These ideas (amongst many others) help us to understand our place in the stars.

Instructor: Avery Archer

By learning and applying the 3 stages of the production process: Pre-production, Production, and Post Production, students will produce, direct, and crew a studio based production.

Instructor: Larry Abed

Embark on a rhythmic journey with our Percussion Ensemble course, where students dive into the vibrant world of percussive exploration. Our Percussion ensemble course provides the percussion student with the opportunity to rehearse a variety of percussion ensemble literature and wraps up with an informal performance. There will be one hour of a four-mallet technique workshop.

Instructor: Ming-Hui Kuo