 "Photo: Shannon Proksch")
Teenagers often struggle to stay occupied during the summer, especially those deemed as "gifted and talented," a term defining children and young adults with exceptional intellectual abilities and a passion for learning. The Youth Adventure Program (YAP) seeks to facilitate those needs by hosting four week-long camps in June and July, each offering a variety of career classes, ranging from veterinary medicine to criminal law.
In 1993, William Nash founded YAP in College Station to draw on Texas A&M's educational resources and present a broad spectrum of subjects. Originally, the camp was offered for three weeks to a handful of high school students. Today, the camp has grown. Attendance has increased by 300 percent over the past 10 years, requiring the addition of an extra week and prompting the creation of YAP: Corpus Island Adventures in Corpus Christi.
Despite its success, YAP remains committed to campers. Classes are limited to no more than 24 students so students get individual attention from professors. All meals, classes and activities are paid for out of the students' dues and any extra money is sent to a scholarship fund.
The camp is far from all work and no play. Most of each day is spent hanging out with the other campers, at A&M's expansive student recreation center or competing in team-oriented games.
First-time camper Michelle Schuett said, "I like the energy, it's really enjoyable."
About 40 percent of campers choose to return for multiple years.
"I think that the kids enjoy coming back because it gives them experience where they can be valued as an individual," said Camp Director Jay Woodward. "They are valued as an intellectual, but also valued as a person, which they might not get that from their parents, their peers and their teachers. We try to make every kid feel special."
This year, the camp had a safari theme, which leaders applied to classic YAP games. Campers went on the hunt for plush animals and to a "jungle jam" dance.
As it winds down its 14th year, many leaders are looking to the future of YAP.
"[In five years] I see YAP in the same place it is right now, just getting bigger and better," said Cutter Howard, a six-time camper who returned this year as a counselor. "Growing to well over 100 students per session, having a lot more classes offered and a lot more informative, interesting programs."
Organizers say programs like YAP seek to inform, educate and expose gifted teenagers to the world around them, but also challenge them. "It stresses the critical thinking mind, but also the creative mind," said camp manager Brett Taylor.
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