(Cheyenne, WY) – The University of Wyoming’s Summer High School Institute (HSI), program for talented rising juniors and seniors, has officially returned this summer, with two separate sessions after last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic.
Students were selected from high schools across Wyoming and three of them were from Fremont County, including Lilly Munda from Riverton High School, and Lily Hitchcock and Jamison Thatch from Lander Valley High School.
High school administrators, counselors and teachers guided students through the application process. Selections were based on an application letter, a personal statement, a letter of recommendation, academic performance and extracurricular activity involvement.
UW offers these students an opportunity to achieve intellectual and personal growth, cultivate their leadership capabilities, and measure their capacities and interests.
The first HSI session was June 6th-26th, for rising seniors who missed last year’s program. The current session, which began July 11th and concluded on July 31st, is for rising juniors.
UW faculty members helped to conduct problem-centered classes ranging from stage production combat to DNA to robotics and criminal justice.
Each student was enrolled in two college-style classes: a physical and natural world class, and a human culture class, as well as an additional one-hour enrichment workshop held in the evenings.
During the three-week program, the rising juniors and seniors attended these classes four times a week, without the pressure of grades.
The focus in these classes is centered on learning and critical thinking, rather than tests and homework, says Li Teng, HSI coordinator and UW Honors College advising manager.
The three-week experience also featured athletic activities, talent shows, picnics, dances, a whitewater rafting trip, random acts of kindness, guest speakers, attendance at local dance performances, visits to museums and enrichment excursions.
Begun in 1985, the HSI program is sponsored by UW, with special funding from the Wyoming State Legislature. Next year’s event, on the UW campus, will be July 10th-30th. To learn more about HSI, click here.
Participants in the June session, listed by their high schools, were:
Big Piney High School — Jaron Petty and Anton Vickery.
Black Butte High School (Rock Springs) — Myles Harper.
Central High School (Cheyenne) — Nora Fraley, Aleksia Johnson, John Knepper, Kierdyn Malone and Jessee Torres.
Douglas High School — Calvin Fertig III and Kloe Huseas.
East High School (Cheyenne) — Mariah DeBono, Kanilehua Miller, Rhys Selway, Hailey Simons, Anika Veltkamp and Zaudan Wawhkyung.
Encampment High School — Kayla Smith.
Evanston High School — McCoy Vozakis.
Green River High School — Sabien Maez.
Greybull High School — Edith Aguilar.
Laramie High School — Tessa Anderson, Heather Ayers, Anna Chen, Kai Edwards, Ashton Ford, Alayna Hutchinson, Parker Jackson, Reese Olson, William (John) Rose, Connor Rothfuss, Paul Stein, Taylor Thatcher, Lina Woelk and Daunte Worden.
Moorcroft High School — Katie Cuthrell, Layla Elliot and Lynsey Gray.
Natrona County High School (Casper) — Jeremy Snyder.
Pine Bluffs High School — Andrea Reifschneider.
Powell High School — Lilyan Halter and Kalaiah Stenlund.
Rawlins High School — Shilia Hallman.
Riverton High School — Lilly Munda.
Rock Springs High School — Savannah Cheney and Megan Hollingshead.
South High School (Cheyenne) — Dusty Lick, Erica Lynn, Erin Mayhew and Morgan Mayhew.
Star Valley High School (Afton) — Irrissa Guyett.
Sundance High School — Telsie Comer.
Thunder Basin High School (Gillette) — Jaden Coody.
Tongue River High School (Dayton) — Julie Lovingood.
Wheatland High School — Daniel Collins.
Worland High School — Ashlyn Erickson.
Wyoming Virtual Academy — Alexina Birkholz and Haddy Smith.
Participants in the July session, listed by their high schools, are:
Campbell County High School (Gillette) — Patricia Hill, Ainsley Hokanson and Rachel Wilkinson.
Central High School (Cheyenne) — Imogen Bolden, Gweneth Hargett, Morgan Kirkbride, Lily Leman and Kira Newcomer.
Douglas High School — Lane Ewing.
East High School (Cheyenne) — Janelle Atkinson and Jonathan Christensen.
Encampment High School — Allison Bromley, Hannah Lee and Bryce Reid.
Farson/Eden High School — Simeon Stotts.
Glenrock Senior High School — Bianca Skinner.
Hanna/Elk Mountain Junior-Senior High School — Rayce Ward.
Jackson Hole High School — Fernanda Costilla-Correa and Blanca Sartillo-Mejia.
Kelly Walsh High School (Casper) — Catie Conway, Sache Hadley and Bobbi Herbst.
Lander Valley High School — Lily Hitchcock and Jamison Thatch.
Laramie High School — McCrea Doyle, Gage Hepworth, Sophia Landreth, Joshua Liu, Saige Mueller, Emma Potter and Nora Steinke.
Natrona County High School (Casper) — Logan Jones, Calla Shosh and Alexis Worthen.
Pinedale High School — Maddox Gehlhausen.
Powell High School — Ethan Cearlock, Owen Fink, Kalin Hicswa, Daniel Merritt, Gabriella Paterson, Hannah Sears and Sydney Spomer.
Rawlins High School — Connor Holcomb and Timothy (TJ) Pabst.
Rock Springs High School — Layla Bloedow, Zachary Croft and Hallie May.
Rocky Mountain High School (Cowley) — Trevin Beckman.
Sheridan High School — Gingi Gonzalez, Annie Hoffman, Ella Hubert, Isabella Kennah, Lilliana Kerns, Catie Kuehl, Aidan Moran and Cameron Reckard.
South High School (Cheyenne) — Terri Roberts.
Worland High School — Ethen Dickinson, Aidan Wantulok and Matthew Wantulok.