Grace Under Pressure: The Secrets of Survival
Wittenberg’s Summer College is a transitional program for newly admitted first-year Wittenberg students.
Through Summer College, you will have the opportunity to participate in a two-week residential program aimed at helping you make a successful transition to college. The two-week program includes 20 hours of classroom instruction geared to the pace and style of first-year Wittenberg courses. This year's program is scheduled for August 5-19, 2009.
Summer College will offer you...
- Two weeks of adventure, friendship, and transformative learning that will give you a running start on your college career.
- A chance to challenge yourself and complete a 2-credit course with a supportive team of university professors.
- An understanding of realistic college-level expectations and the differences between high school and college.
- Opportunities to strengthen study skills and align your current study habits with college-level demands.
By the start of the fall semester you'll be well acquainted with the Wittenberg campus; you'll have gained confidence in meeting and talking with professors; and you'll know a close-knit circle of first-year students. Past participants report feeling better prepared for Wittenberg courses, enjoying greater academic and personal self-esteem, and benefitting from a lighter course load during the fall semester.
Highlights of Summer College 2008
What is the class about?
This is a course about people in extreme situations. Why do some people thrive in crisis situations and remain cool in the midst of catastrophe? Is it luck? Or good genes? Or is there a crisis mindset survivors draw on, a "Survivor IQ" that helps them achieve what Ernest Hemingway called "grace under pressure"?Answering these questions will take us on an interesting journey. We'll study the physiology of acute stress and learn how the body adapts to the physical demands of extreme sports. We'll read combat narratives from the wars in Iraq and Vietnam and watch It Is No Desert, an award-winning play by a Wittenberg graduate living with cancer. Chances are none of us will ever swim the English Channel or endure the traumas of slavery. But the fundamental principles of survival - creativity, awareness, and adaptation - can be applied to any life-changing event, from starting a business to starting college, from surviving a plane crash to surviving illness.
The "Classrooms" of Summer College
This is a highly interactive course where seminar discussions go hand in hand with science labs and road trips. The "classrooms" of Summer College will include...
- the Hocking River, where we'll take a team-building canoe trip;
- a high-ropes course, where we'll learn about the physiology of an "adrenaline rush" first-hand; and
- the National Freedom Center, where we'll see how art, music, and storytelling became survival tools for African-American slaves.
Who are the students?
Students choose to attend Summer College for many reasons: to take advantage of an innovative college course, to develop friendships with like-minded students, to reduce their course load in the fall, and to build relationships with Wittenberg faculty in an environment of experimentation and trust. If you’ve been admitted to Wittenberg’s class of 2013 and are the kind of person who enjoys a challenge and can’t wait to get started on your college career—come join us this summer for “Grace Under Pressure: The Secrets of Survival.”
For additional information about the Summer College program, please contact...
Dr. Bob Davis, program coordinator
800-677-7558, extension 6122
email rdavis@wittenberg.edu
Academic Services
800-677-7558, extension 7924
e-mail lbanion@wittenberg.edu
Wittenberg University Post Office Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501 800-677-7558
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