The Top 10 Prestigious Summer Programs for High School Students

If you’re a high school student looking forward to summer break, I bet you’re already looking forward to the chance to rest and recharge from a busy school year. That makes sense! But you should also consider attending a summer program for high school students, too.

Now at this point, you might be thinking, "sure, I'm interested...but where are summer programs for high school students near me?"

Don't you worry, we'll get there.

These prestigious summer programs for high school students allow you to take a trial run of potential future careers that interest you. So, whether you aspire to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, coder, game designer, or civic leader, the best summer programs for high school students will offer you the opportunity to hone your communication and leadership skills, take a test drive of life on a college campus, and develop lasting friendships with your passionate peers.

And don’t worry – this isn’t summer school or some boring camp. This is Envision by WorldStrides.

Paging Doctor You

National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Medicine & Health Care

Thinking about a career in health care? At NYLF Medicine & Health Care, you can look forward to:

• Gaining hands-on experience by utilizing the tools and techniques practiced by medical professionals, including participating in clinical skills workshops and getting to tour an accredited medical school or state-of-the-art simulation facility
• Getting an inside look as you hear from working medical professionals, current medical residents, and other leaders in the health care field who will share their day-to-day experiences and challenges in their respective specialized fields
• Envisioning your future as you participate in true-to-life medical simulations, including emergency and disaster triage where you’ll apply medical knowledge in a high-pressure environment

Learn more about NYLF Medicine & Health Care.

National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Advanced Medicine & Health Care

If you’re looking to build on your medical knowledge, NYLF Advanced Medicine & Health Care is the program for you. You’ll get the chance to:

• Perform a bone fracture reduction using the same cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) technology used by medical schools and clinical research centers around the world
• Practice your diagnostic skills by diagnosing a simulated patient, including the production of an effective patient history, conducting clinical tests, and formulating hypotheses
• Learn how to control life-threatening bleeding through a Stop the Bleed hands-on workshop, including learning how to pack a wound, apply a tourniquet, and the critical timing of wound care

Learn more about NYLF Advanced Medicine & Health Care

The Scientist is In

Aerospace Academy

Always had an eye towards the sky? Attending Aerospace Academy gives you behind-the-scenes access to a life dedicated to exploring outer space. You can look forward to:

• Getting an inside look through interactions with industry professionals during exclusive site visits and special events – previous attendees have enjoyed trips to Space Center Houston and have heard from former NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao
• Gaining hands-on experience through aerospace simulations that allow you to gain a better understanding of key concepts and how to incorporate the design thinking process, including a simulation where you design, prototype, and launch your own satellite
• Envisioning your future as you experience life on the campus of Rice University, one of our many prestigious summer programs for high school students

Learn more about Aerospace Academy.

Aviation Academy 

If you’re longing to take flight, Aviation Academy represents an unparalleled opportunity for you to get real-world experience and explore careers in the field of aviation. You’ll:

• Enjoy trips to museums and flight centers like the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum and the United States Air Force Academy, as well as hear from former NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao
• Participate in aviation simulations that allow you to gain better understanding of key concepts as you design, prototype, and launch your own model aircraft
• Experience college life on the campus of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs as you learn from industry professionals and meet new lifelong friends

Learn more about Aviation Academy.

National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Engineering

Future engineers will be right at home at NYLF Engineering, where you can look forward to:

• Making an impact through the program-long Capstone Impact Challenge, where you’ll apply the design thinking process to design solutions for current challenges facing real communities around the world as they try to access clean water and design or maintain safe infrastructure
• Go behind-the-scenes of professional facilities and laboratories as you get advice from subject matter experts and industry professionals
• Kick-start your career as you live and learn the campus of a top-ranked engineering school

Learn more about NYLF Engineering.

Learning the Law

National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Law & CSI

If you’ve seen every episode of Law & Order and dream of becoming a courtroom or forensics lab expert, NYLF Law & CSI is the program for you. You can look forward to:

• Exploring the entire judicial process, from the discovery of a crime and evidence collection and analysis all the way to participating in a simulated criminal trial
• Getting an inside look at one of the top forensic science programs in the country at George Mason University, where you’ll hear from legal and forensic experts
• Deciding which track to focus on—law, where you’ll observe proceedings at a local courthouse and learn from law school professionals, or CSI, where you’ll participate in an interactive panel with university professors and working forensic scientists

Learn more about NYLF Law & CSI.

Intensive Law & Trial

Build on the legal knowledge you already have at Intensive Law & Trial, where you’ll:

• Put essential skills to the test as you take part in a competitive mock trial, a simulation endorsed by the American Mock Trial Association
• Learn from the experts at Stanford Law School as you hone your opening statement, closing argument, and cross-examination skills
• Develop important leadership skills, including confidence speaking in public, teamwork, and conflict management

Learn more about Intensive Law & Trial.

Becoming a leader

Gaining leadership experience involves taking on responsibilities, guiding others, and making decisions that contribute to a common goal. Outside of gaining leadership experience through your extracurricular involvements at school, summer programs can be a great way to prepare for your future as a leader.

National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): National Security

Is your dream career one that involves making important decisions, traveling around the world, and helping keep our country safe? If so, NYLF National Security is the summer program for you! This summer, you could:

• Learn about potential careers in defense, intelligence, and diplomacy as you hear from esteemed keynote speakers, including top experts in cybersecurity
• Participate in a true-to-life national security simulation where you and your fellow attendees have to work together to prevent an imminent crisis
• Go behind-the-scenes as you discover the diplomatic institutions, policy centers, and military facilities where leaders plan for peace and prepare for crisis

Learn more about NYLF National Security.

National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Business Innovation

If conquering the business world is more your style, NYLF Business Innovation is the destination for you. There you’ll:

• Participate in a competitive startup-style simulation, culminating in an true-to-life investor pitch presentation
• Hone your entrepreneurial and best practice skills as you participate in workshops and simulation exercises
• Learn from accomplished professionals about their successes—and, equally as important, how they learned from failure

Learn more about NYLF Business Innovation.

Game & Technology Academy

Gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry that’s only going to become even more prominent. If you want to be at the forefront of the gaming sphere, Game & Technology Academy is the place for you. You can look forward to:

• Tapping into the vast knowledge and experience of the leading experts from George Mason University’s Computer Game Design Program, including Dr. Scott Martin
• Using the latest technology and development tools employed by the industry, from machine learning and AI to Unreal and Unity game engines
• Bring your creations to life by creating and demoing your own game or animation at the program’s Indie Showcase

Learn more about Game & Technology Academy.

Ready to get going? Click the button below to learn more and enroll in one of our many prestigious summer programs for high school students, just like you.