Have an artsy summer

When Samo student Annabel Renshaw (’16) attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts — an intensive art camp located in Interlochen, MI — last summer, it turned out to be one of the best decisions she ever made. Not only did she take serious dance classes, but she interacted with many other students her age with a similar drive.“Being surrounded by people who are so dedicated to their art is truly inspirational and spending my summer there was a great decision. I grew so much as a performer in such a small amount of time and you can't get that anywhere else,” Renshaw said.Summer art camps allow students to be surrounded by other kids who have similar passions and for students to have professional training to prepare for the real world.Idyllwild Art Camp is another highly popular art camp, located in the San Jacinto Mountains. The programs offered at this camp range from classical music to film making. Samo student Henry Felstiner (’16) attended the camp over the summer of 2012 to study bass clarinet."We had classes every day with amazing teachers and we really worked on the details of the music, which is something that you don't really get to do in a huge ensemble at school," Felstiner said.Beyond summer camps, students opt to take college courses. These classes let students meet professors and faculty before college auditions, giving them a  boost when college application season rolls in.Sophie Thomason (’14) attended the Musical Theatre College Preparatory Program for Theatre at the University of Southern California (USC) over the past summer, and said that once you’ve attended a summer program at a college, your chances of being accepted for admission are greatly increased.​“If you go to any college prep program, the professors can see that you are already very committed to their school and you can make great first impressions with the staff and faculty,” Thomason said.Samo College Counselor Julie Honda explained the importance of putting in the time before heading into a major in the arts."If a college is looking at two students that are applying and they both have the same great grades and same talent, they will choose the student who went the extra mile and put in the time when they didn't have to — that's the beauty of these art summer programs," Honda said.​While you may wish to spend your summer lying at the beach or sleeping in until 2 p.m., pushing yourself to attend an art camp or college prep program can be really rewarding in the long run.