{"id":77138,"date":"2026-03-02T08:08:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=77138"},"modified":"2026-03-02T08:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:08:41","slug":"summer-camp-to-career-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/summer-camp-to-career-path\/","title":{"rendered":"From summer camp to career path"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer,\u00a0three different camps\u00a0from the School of Communication\u00a0are opening their gates, not just to give\u00a0high school students\u00a0a fun break, but\u00a0also\u00a0to give them a head start on their future.\u00a0Each camp is\u00a0built\u00a0around\u00a0hands-on experiences\u00a0and clear pathways to\u00a0possible careers, so instead of guessing what to study\u00a0when they get to\u00a0college, students\u00a0can\u00a0explore fields that could become their\u00a0future\u00a0professions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome\u00a0high school students\u00a0to the School of Communication this summer,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>said\u00a0<\/span>Michelle Carpenter<\/span><\/b>, executive director at the School of Communication.\u00a0\u201cW<\/span>e\u00a0are looking\u00a0forward to\u202fthe creative energy they will bring and hope their experience\u00a0during the camps\u00a0helps\u00a0them\u00a0see\u202fthemselves at NAU\u00a0when they\u202fbegin thinking about their college journey.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All three camps are focused on learning by doing.\u00a0Teens\u00a0will work closely with faculty, industry\u00a0professionals\u00a0and NAU students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Storytelling through social media<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>The\u00a0Social Media\u00a0and Photography Camp\u00a0will be taught by\u00a0<\/span>Beth Staub<\/span><\/b>, assistant teaching professor,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Janice Sweeter<\/span><\/b>, professor of practice. The camp will blend photography skills with social media strategy, teaching students not only how to take pictures that tell a story, but\u00a0also\u00a0how to create content for different platforms in a responsible manner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially for teens, it is so valuable to explain to them the responsible use of social media,\u201d Sweeter said. \u201cWe go over privacy protections and\u00a0how to\u00a0recognize\u00a0legitimate news sources, along with\u00a0how to\u00a0design\u00a0their own social media accounts\u00a0and personal\u00a0brand.\u00a0This camp is the perfect combination of social media and photography.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0camp\u00a0includes guest speakers and\u00a0the chance\u00a0to interact with\u00a0NAU\u00a0students\u00a0who will share\u00a0their experiences\u00a0about being in college\u00a0and how, as\u00a0freshmen, they were not sure what to major\u00a0in.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>\u201cI think their favorite part last year was being paired with my photography students and taking pictures\u00a0around campus and\u00a0downtown,\u201d said Staub.\u00a0\u201cThey were able to ask them questions about college and what it is like, while learning composition skills, how to set up a shot and how to take interesting pictures.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sweeter said that even though social media is something teens interact with daily, they might not know all the inner workings of it or how to develop a post that is engaging, fun and real to them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPersonal branding is a very important piece,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cThey will learn\u00a0the anatomy of a post and\u00a0about\u00a0all the social media platforms that are out there, as well as how to integrate these incredible images that they take.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where stories come to life<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>Austin Frick<\/span><\/b>, assistant professor of practice, will be teaching the Animation Camp again this year, hoping to give participants a comprehensive introduction to\u00a0the\u00a0field.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will cover some of the foundational principles of animation, like anticipation, overlapping action and following through,\u201d Frick said. \u201cWe will explore different mediums like flipbooks, stop motion animations and 2D computer animation. Students will also have some exposure to 3D sculpting and 3D character animation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Frick said the camp is for anyone interested in watching or making animation, or for those interested in finding a platform to tell their stories. All that is needed is some level of technical knowledge and openness to try new things.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope students come away with a new skillset that allows them to create their own films,\u201d Frick said. “It\u2019s an incredibly empowering thing to be able to envision a story in your head and have the tools to bring it to life.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stories from the sidelines<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Students<\/a>The\u00a0Sports and Adventure Media Camp\u00a0is new this year and\u00a0will be taught by\u00a0<\/span>Rory Faust<\/span><\/b>, associate professor of practice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started the Sports and Adventure\u00a0Media academic program about two years ago,\u00a0and this is the first time we are offering the summer camp,\u201d Faust said. \u201cOur current program includes television, radio,\u00a0podcasting, live event coverage, written stories,\u00a0online,\u00a0social media,\u00a0pretty much the\u00a0entire gamut.\u00a0We are going to\u00a0showcase\u00a0all those areas in the summer camp and students are going to be hands-on with our technology and will be able to see all our facilities.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>Students will also travel around Flagstaff for the adventure\u00a0component\u00a0of the program to see some of the opportunities\u00a0offered\u00a0outside of campus. Faust said this camp is the right fit for students who are interested in exploring media in the future and have college in their plans, as well as students who like sports and are passionate about not only traditional sports, but also outdoor adventure\u00a0sports, which\u00a0are abundant\u00a0in the northern Arizona region.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the process of high school students figuring out what they want to do is\u00a0exploring\u00a0options,\u201d Faust said. \u201cMaybe they\u00a0have an interest in sports,\u00a0maybe in\u00a0media or in the\u00a0outdoors. It is\u00a0a great opportunity\u00a0for them to come to Flagstaff, explore the region, what the university has to\u00a0offer\u00a0and get a little taste of college life.\u00a0I want them to walk\u00a0away\u00a0from this experience a little surprised, knowing all the opportunities they can have here at NAU.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All three camps will run simultaneously with a day camp\u00a0option\u00a0and an overnight residential camp\u00a0option. Day camps\u00a0run from June 15-19, while overnight campers will arrive on campus on June 14. For more information and to sign up,\u00a0visit the\u00a0<\/span>Communication Youth Camps website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese summer camps showcase the\u202flifeblood of the School of Communication\u2014teaching students how to tell compelling stories through film, photos, words, images and human emotion,\u201d Sweeter said. \u201cPlus,\u00a0having fun in beautiful Flagstaff at the same time.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summer,\u00a0three different camps\u00a0from the School of Communication\u00a0are opening their gates, not just to give\u00a0high school students\u00a0a fun break, but\u00a0also\u00a0to give them a head start on their future.\u00a0Each camp is\u00a0built\u00a0around\u00a0hands-on experiences\u00a0and clear pathways to\u00a0possible careers, so instead of guessing what to study\u00a0when they get to\u00a0college, students\u00a0can\u00a0explore fields that could become their\u00a0future\u00a0professions.\u00a0 \u201cWe are thrilled to…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":77142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}