By LES ODELL, The Southern
(Originally published in the Southern Illinoisian on June 25, 2021)
CARBONDALE — Teenagers and summer break. For many it is a time of sleeping in, enjoying a local swimming hole and just taking it easy, focusing on anything but academics. But for 10 students affiliated with Carbondale Community High School, summer is a time to explore topics ranging from number theory to artificial intelligence and pharmacology to climate change.
These students, all recipients of merit-based scholarships from the Garwin Family Foundation to attend selective summer enrichment programs, will be broadening their horizons and exploring possible career paths.
In what may be the only scholarship program of its kind nationally, the foundation covers tuition and some related costs for Carbondale students to participate or enroll in summer enrichment programs in science, technology, engineering and math at colleges and university including Stanford, Brown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is the eighth year for the program.
