Academic Summer Camps
July 16- July 28, 2023
Come to Roberts Wesleyan University to experience what it is like as a Roberts Wesleyan Redhawk!
Spend up to two weeks as a Roberts Wesleyan student when you participate in one of our overnight Academic Summer Camps. Have one on one access to faculty and professionals in your chosen camp. Not only will you experience campus life as a Roberts Wesleyan University student, you will also experience what Rochester, NY has to offer with our city outings! Camps run Monday-Friday the weeks of July 16 and July 23, 2023, with an optional weekend stay. The cost of camp includes meals, overnight stay, camp experiences, labs, and more.
Open to high school students entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year in the fall of 2023. Registration for each camp is limited to the first 24* students to sign up and submit their registration fees.
*Registration for Photography and Film is limited to 12 students.
Click below for a description of each of our 12 academic camps:
Week One | July 16-21, 2023
CSI/ Forensics
Pre-Physical Therapy
Photography & Film
Social Work
Environmental Science
CSI/ Forensics
Do you love solving mysteries? If so, you will love our CSI and Forensics Camp at Roberts!
Come spend a week immersed in crime scene investigation. From collecting evidence to analyze the evidence in a lab, you will process a simulated crime scene and work with a group to solve the crime. This camp will provide you with hands-on experience in the field of forensic science. CSI examines multiple aspects of how law enforcement teams conduct a criminal investigation. You will be part of a group that works on a week-long crime scenario that needs to be solved.
- Discover how a professional collects evidence and processes a crime scene.
- Gain experience collecting evidence from a simulated crime scene. Perform laboratory experiments to analyze the evidence with current instrumentation.
- Meet with K9, SWAT, and Criminal Intelligence Specialists
- Discover how professional units approach criminal investigation.
- Gain experience solving crimes through mock crime scenes and tactical simulators.
Meet Your Professors
As a former law enforcement professional, Glenn Grana knows what it takes to get the job done. He's worked in every area of law enforcement, including crime analysis. Glenn will bring his over 20 years of experience to CSI Camp and lead students through crime scene investigations and crime analysis. Glenn is a published author and recognized authority on crime and intelligence analysis.
Dr. Jason Taylor is Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry from Indiana University and has been teaching at Roberts Wesleyan College for 20 years. Dr. Taylor regularly advises forensic science students and teaches the Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Instrumental Analysis courses in the forensic science program.
Photography & Film
Do you like taking pictures and making movies?
Spend a week as a photographer and filmmaker. Learn the essentials of visual storytelling using professional-level DSLR cameras, video production, and audio equipment. Explore the importance of composition, lighting, depth of field, color, and more that can make even your smartphone images and videos more cinematic.
- Explore one photo theme each day including portraiture, architecture, journalism, event photography, and even black-and-white "camera-less" images.
- Write, produce, film, and edit a short narrative film in small production groups.
- Learn the rules and when to break them as you capture the world around you during walking field trips.
Meet Your Professor
Associate Professor of Art
Romy Hosford is a multimedia artist, visual storyteller and Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Roberts Wesleyan College. She holds an MFA degree in Visual Studies from Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY. She has over 20 years of experience in both commercial and fine-art photography and film/video production. As an educator Professor Hosford challenges her students to question and challenge the cultural misconceptions about the arts and the media/electronic arts.
Pre-Physical Therapy
Are you interested in helping people get back to physical health?
Spend a week learning about the profession of physical therapy. Physical Therapists make peoples’ dreams of getting back to full health, after injury or surgery, come true.
- Learn more about the training and practice of physical therapy from former Roberts students.
- Discover the wide range of career opportunities in PT.
- Practice flexibility tests used by Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers.
- Engage in fun activities that highlight physical limitations that your future patients may experience.
- Use state-of-the-are equipment to measure your cardiorespiratory capacity
- Learn how you can become trained and certified to take your place as an integral player on a healthcare or sports medicine team.
Meet Your Professor
Professor of Biology
Dr. LaCelle earned his Ph.D. in Physiology and Cell Biology from Albany Medical College in Albany, NY, with research focused on the decline of host-defense after injury. He has been teaching anatomy and physiology to many bright students interested in health professions, including nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant, and medicine, for the past 15 years. As part of the team developing the new Exercise Science major here at Roberts, he has become passionate about preparing students for careers in physical therapy and all aspects of sports medicine. His current research focuses on various exercise science and cell and molecular biology problems, including the influence of diet on human performance, and the regulation of cell growth and differentiation in the epidermis of the skin.
Social Work
Do you enjoy working with people to solve problems and promote positive change?
Spend a week learning about the diverse settings where social work professionals are employed and how they support individuals, families, organizations, and communities in meeting their goals.
Roberts Wesleyan College Social Work faculty will provide, through engaging discussion and activities, an overview of what social workers do and how they advocate for change.
- Learn about the almost unlimited settings in which social work professionals help people and advocate for change including schools, healthcare facilities, community agencies, mental health clinics, and policy/lawmaking arenas.
- Learn about the diverse populations social workers serve and the bio/psycho/social/spiritual/cultural perspective.
- Take a guided field trip around Rochester that illuminates some of our community’s biggest challenges – and strengths!
- Learn about the Social Work Code of Ethics and how these principles guide our efforts in social and environmental justice.
- Engage with peers in hands-on intervention activities used by social workers when working with clients, and learn about how we evaluate the effectiveness of our work.
Meet Your Professors
Rebecca Draper
Clinical Training Director; Assistant Professor of Social Work
Dr. Rebecca Draper is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Roberts Wesleyan College, as well as an adjunct clinical psychologist at the RWC Counseling Center. She teaches undergraduate courses in both macro and micro-level social work, as well as graduate courses in child/adolescent development and group counseling for the Education and Psychology Departments. Along with maintaining a small caseload at the Counseling Center, Dr. Draper has been instrumental in developing a training program to provide clinical practicum and internship opportunities for MSW and PsyD students, a passion which developed out of her own experiences as a practicum student in the center. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Draper has conducted research on the impact of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Philippines. She has enjoyed the opportunity to travel internationally while using her psychological training (in both clinical and research skills) in order to better understand the needs of the survivors, their families, and the community.
Dieuveut Gaity, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor of Social Work
A former consultant at the United Nations/UNDP and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). He oversaw and coordinated multiple psychosocial and community development projects, ranging from restorative justice and rehabilitation, community/youth engagement to community mental health and psychosocial support programs. He was an active member of the Global Interest Group in Buffalo, NY, from 2014 to 2018. His research interests are macro social work practice and social innovation, community and organization intervention, children and youth development, homelessness, and street children in poverty-related contexts.
Leia Jones
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Brenda McQuillan
Associate Professor; MSW Program Director
Dr. McQuillan has over 20 years of experience as a social worker across multiple settings including a school district, foster care agency, child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic, juvenile detention center, and mental health clinic. Currently, in addition to teaching full time at Roberts, she also works part time as a therapist for the Justice for Children Advocacy Center, where she provides mental health treatment for children who have experienced significant trauma, most often sexual abuse. Dr. McQuillan’s area of expertise is clinical work with children, adolescents, and families. She completed a year-long interdisciplinary fellowship sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau focused on Leadership in Adolescent Health and is trained in evidence-based interventions for youth including TF-CBT, PCIT, and EMDR. Dr. McQuillan enjoys bringing curricula to life for students through real-life experiences in the field. Dr. McQuillan’s research interest is youth trauma, specifically experiences with cyberbullying, abuse, and the impact on the parent-child relationship.
Hiie Silmere
Professor of Social Work
Dr. Silmere is the key research professor at the Roberts MSW Program. She strives to help students develop an appreciation for and ability to use research to improve their social work practice. She has also mentored students in research projects and presented with them at national conferences. Dr. Silmere’s key research interests include international social work, environmental justice, and positive youth development. She has taken social work students to cross-cultural trips to Estonia and also participated in cross-cultural trips to Jamaica and South Korea. Dr. Silmere has presented at numerous conferences and co-published several scholarly articles.
Lori Sousa-Meixell, PhD, LCSW
Associate Professor, BSW Program Director
Leanne Walters, PhD, LMSW
Assistant Professor, MSW Program
Dr. Walters’ professional experience has included both research and clinical roles, primarily with the University of Rochester - Golisano Children’s Hospital and School of Nursing. She comes to Roberts with several years of teaching experience, and is excited to share her experiences in both research and pediatric/medical social work with students.
Music Therapy
Are you interested in using music to help people heal?
Spend a week exploring the amazing world of music therapy. Music Therapists use their specialized knowledge of music and psychology to help people along the path of healing and growth.
- Learn how music therapists use improvisation, songwriting, performing, and music listening to help clients achieve individualized goals.
- Learn how to lead an improvised group music experience.
- Gain a better understanding about music therapy as a career path.
- Explore the therapeutic uses of music across a variety of settings.
Meet Your Professors
Director of Music Therapy
Megan Resig came to Roberts in 2004 to pursue a degree in Piano Performance. After graduation, she went on to get her master’s degree in Music Therapy from Nazareth College of Rochester and spent the following two years working as a music therapist at Hochstein School of Music and Dance, serving children and adults with developmental needs. In 2011, Megan took a position in Portland, Oregon with the Children’s Cancer Association where she provided music therapy services to patients in the pediatric oncology and burn units of several local hospitals in the area. She also served as a full-time music therapy faculty member at Marylhurst University. After moving back to Rochester, she partnered with two local music therapists to open Spectrum Creative Arts, a community arts center dedicated to providing music, art, dance, and theatre programming to individuals of all ages and abilities in the Rochester area.
Environmental Science
Are you interested in the interactions in the natural world?
Spend a week in the field and in the lab, learning techniques used by environmental scientists to assess ecosystems and populations.
- Practice field techniques in surveying populations in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as well
- as a water quality assessment
- Participate in citizen science data collection using methods from the NY State Department of
- Environmental Conservation as well as the Empire State Native Pollinator Study
- Learn more about our local ecosystem trees and flowers and compare past and present data to
- Look at changes in ecosystems.
- Explore careers, ethical issues, and case studies in the field of environmental science
Meet Your Professor
Rachel Graham
Rachel Graham has been an instructor of biology at Roberts for the last 15 years. In addition to teaching environmental science here, she has taught in environmental education with the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and the Au Sable Institute for Environmental Studies. She has been trained as a citizen scientist with the NYSDEC to do stream evaluations and with the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey to do pollinator collection using money from a NOAA grant, both of which we will be participating in during this camp. She loves to be outdoors, exploring the natural world with a field guide, binoculars and her husband and kids.
Week Two | July 23-28, 2023
Nursing
Pre-Med
Creative Writing
Psychology
STEM
Teacher Education
Criminal Investigation
Do you want to understand the inner workings of a criminal investigation?
The Criminal Investigations Camp examines multiple aspects of how law enforcement teams conduct a criminal investigation. You will be part of a group that works a week-long crime scenario that needs to be solved.
- Meet with K9, SWAT, and Criminal Intelligence Specialists
- Discover how professional units approach criminal investigation.
- Gain experience solving crimes through mock crime scenes and tactical simulators.
Meet Your Professors
As a former law enforcement professional, Glenn Grana knows what it takes to get the job done. He's worked in every area of law enforcement, including crime analysis. Glenn will bring his over 20 years of experience to CSI Camp and lead students through crime scene investigations and crime analysis. Glenn is a published author and recognized authority on crime and intelligence analysis.
Jason Murphy is currently employed by the Irondequoit Police Department (IPD) as a Sergeant of the road patrol. Jason assists in supervising the 3rd platoon, as well as the Technical Services Unit. He has been employed with the IPD for 10 years and has served as a Field Training Officer, Evidence Technician, Crisis Intervention Team Member, and Member of the Honor Guard. Prior to his time with IPD, Jason served as a Police Officer for the New York State Park Police.
Psychology
Would you like to understand people better? Would you like to learn more about the science of Psychology?
Spend a week learning about psychology and the breadth of vocational paths that it offers. Expect to learn a lot more about yourself and the people around you as you participate in a variety of activities.
- Develop an understanding of behavioral and emotional disorders.
- Learn about experiments that shocked the world!
- Spend some guided time online exploring the breadth of careers available to someone who studies psychology.
- Develop some techniques for becoming a natural helper.
- Discover how play can be used to help people in counseling.
- Experience the use of psychological measures to answer and decipher some of life’s most asked questions about human behavior.
Meet Your Professors
Professor of Psychology
Jennifer Aube earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at McGill University and has years of experience as a psychologist working with adults who are experiencing a variety of challenges. Her areas of expertise include the assessment and treatment of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. She is currently the Director of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical/School Psychology at Roberts Wesleyan College.
Professor of Psychology
Cheryl Repass earned her PsyD in School Psychology at Alfred University and has years of experience doing clinical work in the schools with child and adolescent populations. Her area of practice expertise is in the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with specific learning, social/emotional, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities. She also continues to provide consultation to families and school systems in navigating the mental health needs of youth throughout the local community.
Nursing
Are you interested in becoming a nurse?
Spend a week in the life of a registered nurse. With the help of the latest cutting-edge technology and expert clinicians at Roberts Wesleyan College, you will learn to work as a vital member of the healthcare team.
- Practice basic assessment and nursing skills in our state of the art practice and simulation labs.
- Participate in simulations with high fidelity manikins that have a heart rate, blood pressure, breathe, and talk.
- Explore the vast career opportunities in the field of nursing and what it takes to be a nurse today.
Meet Your Professors
Associate Professor/Associate Director, Traditional Undergraduate Nursing
Bob has been a nurse for 28 years and teaches pediatric nursing, nursing leadership, and also works in the simulation lab and skills lab. His area of expertise is in pediatric critical care and flight nursing. He has a wide variety of nursing experiences to share with prospective nursing students, and is known among his students as caring and invested in their learning. He is looking forward to working with up-and-coming students!
Instructor of Nursing
Sharon has been a nurse for 12 years and works in the skills lab, simulation, and clinical settings. Her area of expertise is in labor and delivery and she loves to help our “Lucy” manikin give birth! She enjoys teaching students how to care for patients in the lab and in simulation so they are ready to face real-world patients in clinical settings. She is excited to demonstrate to you how Roberts Wesleyan College prepares our nursing students to be excellent future nurses!
Pre-Med
Are you interested in the medical field?
Spend a week learning about medical professions and explore possible pathways to medical school and other health professions. You will learn more about the field of medicine and participate in hands-on medical simulations.
- Participate in medical simulations in our state-of-the-art simulation center and analyze medical case studies to diagnose mock patients.
- Perform a series of animal dissections including the heart and lungs, kidney and brain.
- Conduct a genetics experiment using molecular techniques to determine your genotype for a particular taste gene.
- Learn how to suture (i.e. stitches).
Meet Your Professors
Dr. Terri Thayer received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Alfred University and a Ph.D in Immunology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research career has focused on the immunology of Type 1 Diabetes. Dr. Thayer relocated to Cardiff, Wales, UK for her postdoctoral work. With the support of a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, she investigated mechanisms of regulating the immune response to protect the pancreas from autoimmune attack and prevent type 1 diabetes. Having joined RWU in 2021, Dr. Thayer is excited to serve the Roberts community through education, scientific research, and outreach.
Teacher Education
Do you love working with children?
Spend a week learning about teaching children. You'll walk the path of a teacher, planning fun lessons and activities, and then implementing those activities with children.
- Learn about the different content areas you could teach.
- Observe different teachers in action.
- Learn how to plan lessons and activities that are engaging for children.
- Plan and implement lessons and activities with children.
Meet Your Professor
Emily Robinson was born in Rochester, NY and graduated from Allendale Columbia School. She taught science in private and alternative school programs in both the United States and overseas before returning to New York State to earn her NYS teaching certification in Earth Science. While continuing to teach in both private and public schools, Emily achieved her doctorate in Education. Based on these experiences, Emily’s current research interests include systemic inequalities in the public education system; teacher and student efficacy; and best practices with marginalized youth.
Music Performance
Are you interested in classical music performance?
Spend a week practicing and performing as you hone and develop your musicianship skills. Collaborate with other musicians and develop solo repertoire with skilled coaching.
- Grow as a musician on your instrument of choice.
- Receive invaluable coaching from members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Gain performance experience in the beautiful Shewan Recital Hall.
- Learn tips and tricks from local Professional Musicians about how to improve your performance skills.
Meet Your Professors
Director of Choral Activities
Dr. Adam Potter is a former high school choral music educator. Following his public school teaching career, he earned his Ph.D. in choral conducting and music education from the Florida State University College of Music, where he studied choral music with Judy Bowers, Kevin Fenton, and André Thomas and music psychology and research methods with William Fredrickson, John Geringer, and Clifford Madsen. A passionate teacher of pre-service music educators, his former students are employed in public schools, private schools, churches, and community choruses throughout the country. He continues to work with learners of all ages through an active schedule of guest conducting, ensemble adjudicating, and conference presenting in the United States and abroad. At Roberts, he conducts the Chorale, Women’s Choir, and Men’s Chorus and teaches coursework in choral conducting and vocal music education methods.
Director of Music Therapy
Megan Resig came to Roberts in 2004 to pursue a degree in Piano Performance. After graduation, she went on to get her master’s degree in Music Therapy from Nazareth College of Rochester and spent the following two years working as a music therapist at Hochstein School of Music and Dance, serving children and adults with developmental needs. In 2011, Megan took a position in Portland, Oregon with the Children’s Cancer Association where she provided music therapy services to patients in the pediatric oncology and burn units of several local hospitals in the area. She also served as a full-time music therapy faculty member at Marylhurst University. After moving back to Rochester, she partnered with two local music therapists to open Spectrum Creative Arts, a community arts center dedicated to providing music, art, dance, and theatre programming to individuals of all ages and abilities in the Rochester area.
Creative Writing
Interested in developing your creative writing skills?
Spend a week thinking and training yourself to work as a professional creative writer. Learn new writing strategies and engage in multiple genres to explore what areas of strength you may want to develop further. Resources and daily writing prompts are provided to allow students a challenging but caring environment to grow as an artist and creative writer.
Meet Your Professor
Jae Newman, MFA in Writing & MA in Theological Studies
Jae Newman is a poet and creative writing instructor at Roberts Wesleyan University. He earned an MFA in Writing from Spalding University and a MA in Theological Studies from Northeastern Seminary. His writing has been anthologized and published in many national journals. Collage of Seoul, a collection of poetry, was published by Cascade Books in 2015. As an educator, Professor Newman has presented for the Poetry Foundation in Chicago offering perspective on how to teach poetry (2017) and how to teach writing poems (2018) to high school and college students. He has also recently presented at the Vermont Conference of Christianity and the Arts (2022).
STEM
Come explore various topics in STEM. STEM Camp is designed to teach you about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math while giving you the opportunity to explore different concepts and enhance your education outside the traditional classroom.
- Interactions of light (lasers), diffraction, and wave interference, leading to Quantum Information Science applications such as cryptography and interferometry.
- Hands-on models will be used, including spectral observations, a quantum coin toss (quantum security), a student-built interferometer or telescope, Glowscipt (Python) computer simulations, TinkerCAD 3D printing, and the Quantum Odyssey video game exploring quantum bits, qubits, gates, and entanglement.
- A field trip (weather permitting) for star and planet gazing aided by the Star Walk app and Stellarium software.
Meet Your Professor
Susan Geer, M.A., M.S. Ed.
Sue worked as a Research Scientist in the Kodak Research Labs for 23 years in Chemometrics and Molecular Modeling before being called into the classroom. In 2005 Sue moved her instruction to Northstar Christian Academy, teaching dual enrollment mathematics and physics, and served as the department chair. Continuing to expand her enthusiasm for STEM, she began teaching part-time at RWU in 2017. Sue now works full-time in the Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics department at RWU, and will complete her Education Doctorate in STEM this Spring.
Native to Western New York, Sue enjoys investing in Christian education with experience in college, high school, and home school environments. Her passion is to serve through a local Christian college to enthusiastically motivate students to work at higher levels of learning, to become familiar with mathematical and physical methods that support education and the workplace, and to use technology in that pursuit. Sue actively supports the high school and college STEM connection through professional organizations and recent grants.
Meet Your Camp Director
Richard Hagen, Ph.D., Summer Academics, Director
“Making a decision about your future career and college choices can be very difficult! This is an amazing opportunity to get a head start on those decisions. Have a real University experience with University courses designed for you to experience your career field of choice during the day and take exciting field trips out on the town in the evening! As we look ahead to our 2023 Summer Camps, I hope you will consider Roberts Wesleyan University a place where you can learn, grow in faith and make some incredible connections. Our faculty, staff, and counselors have the highest level of education, motivation, energy and passion to guide you in your college experience. We want to share our passion and skills with our campers to ensure they have a meaningful, safe, and enjoyable time at camp. I can’t wait to welcome you and your family to Roberts Wesleyan University– see you this summer!”
Cost
One Week: $450/week | Two Weeks: $400/week*
The cost for camp includes:
Academic Sessions with Roberts Faculty
Meals
Overnight Accommodations
Campus Experiences
*Campers attending for two weeks who wish to stay the weekend may do so for an additional $300.
As a Christian institution, these camps will seek to incorporate the values and commitments of the Christian faith.
The Camp will have a permit to operate in New York State from the Monroe County Department of Public Health.
Have questions? Please email Emily Hagen.
Refund
Refund Policy
If Roberts Wesleyan University cancels the camps, a full refund will be issued.
If a participant cancels, refunds will be given if withdrawal from the program is made at least four weeks prior to the start date (by June 18, 2023). Requests for refunds will not be honored if withdrawal is made within four weeks of the start date unless a written request citing extenuating circumstances is submitted and approved. A $25 processing fee will be retained for withdrawal refunds.
Full Scholarship Application Criteria
Students meeting select criteria may be eligible to receive a full scholarship to attend one summer camp of their choice. Students must have:
- Financial need as evidenced by receiving free or reduced lunch
- A cumulative high school GPA of 2.50 or higher
Scholarship applicants may apply to attend for one week of camp, either Week 1 or Week 2. The deadline to apply is April 15. Scholarship recipients will be notified by May 31.
Click here to fill out the scholarship application: https://www.roberts.edu/forms/app/form?id=0DtyzA