HSU Summer Camps Impact Community

Summer camps are often a service to the community, giving children a place to go when school is out. During July, students at Hardin-Simmons summer camps learned to make a positive impact on their community in return.

HSU’s Threshold is a summer enrichment program for advanced and gifted Learners. Courses provide challenges and enrichment for students whose abilities enable them to benefit from experiences beyond those provided by the regular school program. Dr. Mary Christopher, Director of Doctorate in Leadership and Masters in Gifted Education, says that Threshold provides unique experiences for gifted children to connect with their passions and interests.

“Because these students often lack options in the regular school curriculum to study this wide range of topics, they relish the chance to investigate structures in physics, storytelling, engineering, nature, and cultures,” she said.

Children also impact their community during Threshold as they donate toiletries and write notes to families at the Noah Project Shelter.

“As these families use these items, we hope they will know that the Threshold students care for them,” Dr. Christopher said. “We also hope that Threshold campers will realize ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.’ They have been given so many gifts and abilities.  Part of becoming an effective leader involves learning to give to others in need.”

Super Summer campers compete in their color groups

One of the largest camps hosted by HSU is Super Summer. During their week on campus, youth group students are trained to share their faith, become leaders in their churches, and impact their community. One camper, Samuel Draper, has attended Super Summer five times and will attend HSU in the fall. 

“The Lord used Super Summer to show me that being a Christian isn’t just about believing in God and Jesus, it’s not even just about having a relationship with Him, though both are important. God wants us to completely surrender our lives to Him,” he said.

Draper says his favorite part of the camp is the family groups which allows him to build close relationships with other Christians.

“I keep coming back because it allows me make close Christian friendships that I haven’t made anywhere else,” he said. “Even after we all go home we keep in contact and hold each other accountable for the struggles we shared during the week. Every year when I come home I feel encouraged in my walk with the Savior.

Draper says that Super Summer is not designed to influence students to go into vocational ministry, but to teach them to serve the Lord no matter what their situation.

Swim Camp participant learns to jump off the diving board

HSU’s Learn to Swim Program also attracts many children from the community. This unique program holds sessions for babies beginning at six months up to students age 14. Dr. Corrie Reed, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Health, and Recreation, has coordinated HSU’s swim program for 16 years. She is the first to bring a certified infant survival swimming program to Abilene.