Oakland University Honors College Hosts First-Ever 'Summer Experience' for High Schoolers

This July, high school students from across the state gathered at Oakland University for the first-ever Honors College Summer Experience. The three-day event gave students a glimpse into campus life as they met with professors, toured historic Meadow Brook Hall and learned about the array of opportunities available to OU Honors College students.

As Honors College Dean Graeme Harper explained, the event was launched “to highlight the great work going on at Oakland – around the campus, in all fields of research and creative endeavor, to highlight the opportunities here for high-achieving students and aspirational high schoolers, and to show what The Honors College can do to support these students as they pursue their dreams.”

Nearly 60 high school students attended the event and were split up into small groups, each led by an Honors College upperclassman. The students learned about some of Michigan’s best-known innovators and “game-changers,” including OU’s founder Matilda Dodge Wilson, William Beaumont, Henry Ford, Gilda Radner, W.K. Kellogg and Dan Gilbert. They also visited OU’s Kresge Library, where they researched how to create their own dream college. Later, they built their dream colleges in miniature and presented them at a special dinner with their parents.

Dean Harper welcomed students and parents to Oakland and offered insights on the unique opportunities and challenging curriculum available to OU Honors College students. An Honors College upperclassman led a tour of Meadow Brook Hall, guiding students through the nooks and crannies of the 1920s Tudor-revival style mansion that was once the home of OU founder Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, Alfred.

“The Honors College at Oakland seeks to support the vision of Matilda and Alfred Wilson in reaching out to high-achieving students and supporting their aspirations,” Dean Harper said. “Their belief in this university changing lives for the better flourishes today because of the great work being done by OU students, faculty and staff. The Summer Experience gave these exceptional high school students a chance to see that work firsthand.”

To learn more about OU’s Honors College, visit oakland.edu/hc.