Clarkson renews its 'Challenge'

POTSDAM — North country high school students will have another chance to give college a try this winter.

Clarkson University's Project Challenge will offer 10 college-level courses to high school students this year, including six new classes.

The five-week Saturday morning program runs from Jan. 17 to Feb. 14.

"We just try to get high school students out and exposed to the campus, to motivate them along the academic line," said Rick E. Campbell, director of the Clarkson School, which sponsors Project Challenge. "Most of the students are pretty excited about being here."

Students come from as close as Potsdam and Canton and as far as Sackets Harbor and Saranac Lake to participate.

"Certainly some of the folks are fairly local and have been on campus before, but for some others this is their first time here," Mr. Campbell said. "But to come out on Saturdays for five weeks in a row, they're generally pretty motivated."

This year, students will be able to choose from new courses such as "Science, Literature and Peace," an examination of Nobel Prize winners and their historical backgrounds; "Cryptology through the Ages," which looks at the science of designing and breaking codes from Roman to modern times, and "Know Your Surroundings," focusing on the biology, ecology and environment of the Adirondack Park.

Other new offerings include "Digital Creativity," "World Religions" and "Introducing Probability."

Popular classes such as "Saturdays with Grey's Anatomy," which provides students with hands-on instruction on diagnosing injuries, and "Creativity and Imagination," a poetry course, also will continue to be offered.

Students also can tackle the Constitution in "The First Amendment in American Democracy" and gain skills for college applications and job searches in "Do-It-Yourself Marketing."

Many participating high schools sponsor all or part of the $140 Project Challenge tuition. Mr. Campbell said he hopes that districts continue to back the program as they slash spending.

"We're hoping with all the talk of budget cuts, we won't get the pinch this year. We're trying to get as many students as possible," he said.

For more information on Project Challenge, contact Mr. Campbell at 268-2235 or projectchallenge@clarkson.edu.