Summer Conferences
Does your dream summer include meeting living writers, discovering the ecosystems in your own community, exploring the world through technology, or investigating history beyond the printed word? If so, you have come to the right place!
Know what you are looking for?
Chose the Summer Program topic that interests you! Our Summer Conferences are open to students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior year of high school.
Hosted by faculty and staff at the Center for Environment & Society.
Presented by faculty and staff at the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.
Programming by the faculty and staff that support the Rose O’Neill Literary House
and nationally renowned guest authors.
Hosted by faculty and staff at the Center for Environment & Society.
Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference
Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference
Program Dates: July 11-14, 2023
Scholarship Application Deadline: June 15, 2023
Registration Closes: June 23, 2023
Cost: $795
Our motto is “Write Your Truth.” Creative writing workshops at the Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference are designed to help you discover answers to questions like: What is your truth? What voice will you use to tell it? The Cherry Tree Young Writers' Conference is a vibrant literary gathering that helps rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors build both their skills and their identity as writers.
The world has never been in more urgent need of young people who are willing and able to bear witness. Washington College—home to the famous Sophie Kerr Prize, the world’s largest undergraduate writing award, worth nearly $70,000—is a thriving community where aspiring poets, novelists, and journalists study with prize-winning authors to hone their craft. Writing is often a solitary art, but it needn't be a lonely one.
At the Young Writers’ Conference, students take intensive creative writing workshops with nationally renowned authors in one of 3 genres (poetry, fiction, or journalism), discuss literature with English faculty, and attend professional readings and craft panels. They explore the world of literary internships and grants in publishing, writing, and editing. And they learn what it’s like to work at college publications such as Cherry Tree, Washington College’s national literary journal. We introduce students to the literary life.
This summer, our 7th annual literary extravaganza takes place July 11-14. The cost is $795 per participant, which covers all costs—including our "Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay" workshop and letterpress printing demonstration. We have a limited number of full-ride merit and regional scholarships available that cover the full cost of tuition.
You can find more information here.
Avian Conservation and Ecology Program
Avian Conservation and Ecology Program
Program Dates: July 11-14, 2023
Scholarship Application Deadline: June 1, 2023
Registration Closes: June 25, 2023
Cost: $350
Have you wondered what that red bird is in your yard? Do you know the birds at your feeders, but want to learn more about them? Do you like to share your love of natural world with your friends & family? We have just the program for you! Washington College's Center for Environment & Society is pleased to announce the Avian Conservation and Ecology Summer Program for 2023. You will join a group of other like-minded nature-lovers to explore regional habitats from marshes to grasslands to forests and discover the birds that call these habitats home, while being guided by Washington College Field Biologists and Professional Bird Banders. The conference will include opportunities to meet with biologists and professional researchers to discuss habitat conservation, investigate career options relating to birds and wildlife, all while living on the beautiful Washington College campus!
Field Work & Outdoor Exploration
The Avian Ecology & Conservation Program is an intensive, outdoor educational experience. It's a great way to expand your knowledge about birds, and is open to anyone with an interest in nature and the outdoors. It might be hard to get on the road by 6 am, but when you hear the birds' dawn chorus and see a forest come to life, you'll be glad you got up.
It's not all research and hard work! We know how to have fun at CES and the Chester River provides a great opportunity for leisure time on the water and on campus with evening activities hosted by WC Admissions. We are excited to empower you to be a steward and to see yourself on the campus of Washington College!
More Questions?
We have had terrific success with past summer conferences and we’re confident that you’ll find this both a lot of fun and very useful. We hope you’ll join us! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. For more information on the conference, please contact Maren Gimpel at mgimpel2@wascoll.edu.
Young Environmental Stewards' Conference
Young Environmental Stewards' Conference
Welcome to the 6th Annual Young Environmental Stewards' Conference!
Program Dates: July 11-14, 2023
Scholarship Application Deadline: June 1, 2023
Registration Closes: June 25, 2023
Cost: $350
The Young Environmental Stewards' Conference is designed to introduce you to the magic and beauty of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Led by staff at the Center for Environment & Society (CES), this four-day conference includes kayaking, wildlife habitat conservation efforts, underwater exploration and more – all while living on the beautiful Washington College campus! The Chester River is a tributary of our beloved Chesapeake Bay and is one of Chestertown's most important resources. At the Young Environmental Stewards' Conference, you'll have the opportunity to get on the Chester River and explore the unique local environment with other like-minded students.
Field Work & Outdoor Exploration
You'll spend the week delving into the connections between land and water. At Washington College's River and Field Campus (RAFC), our 4,700-acre living laboratory, you'll sample some of RAFC's varied ecosystems, including some that are geographically exclusive to the area. You'll also have the chance to get to know the Chester River in our research vessel, Callinectes and from the river's edge.
It's not all research and hard work! We know how to have fun at CES and the Chester River provides a great opportunity for leisure time on the water and on campus with evening activities hosted by WC Admissions. We are excited to empower you to be a steward and to see yourself on the campus of Washington College!
More Questions?
We have had terrific success with past summer conferences and we're confident that you'll find this both a lot of fun and very useful. We hope you'll join us! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. For more information on the conference, please contact Jemima Clark at jclark5@washcoll.edu.
Young Historians’ Conference
Young Historians’ Conference
History Off the Page: Making the Past Present
Program Dates: July 11-14, 2023
Registration Closes: June 15, 2023
Cost: $200 (one or more scholarships available)
Number of Young Historians: Space is limited - only 14 spots this year!
The Young Historians’ Conference gives high school students a backstage look into the many ways we make history — and a chance to make history themselves. This year’s theme, History Off the Page: Making the Past Present, is an introduction to the many ways we can investigate history beyond the printed page. (But don’t get us wrong — we still love books, too!)
Together with Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, you’ll do hands-on work with original centuries-old archival documents and artifacts, conduct oral history interviews with civil rights activists, explore historic buildings and neighborhoods, and view the Chesapeake region's landscape from the deck of a boat. We’ll travel to Washington, D.C., for behind-the-scenes tours at the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. Check out these photos from the 2021 Young Historians' Conference.
You’ll have unique opportunities to learn from Washington College faculty mentors and nationally acclaimed authors, as well as history undergrads following their intellectual passions on an array of historical topics. Throughout the program, you’ll be living on the campus of the first American college established after the Revolutionary War, under the personal patronage of George Washington himself.
The Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is housed in the original, colonial-era riverfront Custom House of Chestertown and features a Public Humanities Lab filled with state-of-the-art technology to create digital archives and exhibitions. Our interest in history goes far beyond our college’s namesake. From Frederick Douglass to the Freedom Riders, Maryland’s Eastern Shore is an ideal place to study four centuries of African American history, a topic of special focus at the Starr Center. No matter what your interest in history is, you will find a place in our community of young scholars.
Registration Information:
- The conference is limited to a maximum of 14 participants. Registrations are accepted on a rolling basis. Registration will close as soon as the program is full or on June 15, 2023.
- Please submit a 250-500 word statement describing your interest in the “History Off the Page” program. It doesn’t need to be a formal essay — just tell us why you’d be excited to join!
- If you wish to be considered for one of the scholarships, you or your parent/s or guardian/s may also include a short statement describing any relevant circumstances. (Requesting a scholarship will not affect your chances of being admitted to the program.) We would ask you not to apply for a scholarship if you do not have financial need, so that we can help all those students who would not be able to participate without a scholarship.