Academic Summer Camps

Sunday (May 31)

5-8 p.m - Southern shuttles from Chattanooga Airport to campus

7-9 p.m - Overnight campers check into residence halls

10 p.m - RAs begin room checks for the night in residence halls

Monday (June 1)

7:30 a.m - Breakfast in Dining Hall

8 a.m - Local campers check in at Wright Hall 

8:30 a.m - Welcome session in Lynn Wood Hall Chapel

9 a.m - Campus tour

10 a.m - Camp sessions begin

12-1 p.m - Lunch in Dining Hall

1-5 p.m - Camp sessions continue

5 p.m - Dinner in Dining Hall

6 p.m - Worship at The Grid in Bietz Center

6 p.m - Local campers picked up in front of Wright Hall

7-9 p.m - Recreation in Bietz Center, Hulsey Wellness Center, Iles P.E.Center, and residence halls

9 p.m - Overnight campers return to residence halls

9 p.m - Local campers picked up in front of Wright Hall

10 p.m - RAs begin room checks for the night in residence halls

Tuesday (June 2)

7:30 a.m - Breakfast in Dining Hall

8 a.m - Local campers check in at Wright Hall 

8:30 a.m - Camp sessions begin

12-1 p.m - Lunch in Dining Hall

1-5 p.m - Camp sessions continue

5 p.m - Dinner in Dining Hall

6 p.m - Worship at the Grid in Bietz Center

6 p.m - Local campers picked up in front of Wright Hall

7-9 p.m - Recreation in Bietz Center, Hulsey Wellness Center, Iles P.E.Center, and residence halls

9 p.m - Overnight campers return to residence halls

9 p.m - Local campers picked up in front of Wright Hall

10 p.m - RAs begin room checks for the night in residence halls

Wednesday (June 3)

7:30 a.m - Breakfast in Dining Hall

8 a.m - Local campers check in at Wright Hall 

8:30 a.m - Camp sessions begin

12-1 p.m - Lunch in Dining Hall

1-5 p.m - Camp sessions continue

5 p.m - Dinner in Dining Hall

6 p.m - Worship at the Grid in Bietz Center

6 p.m - Local campers picked up in front of Wright Hall

7-9 p.m - Recreation in Bietz Center, Hulsey Wellness Center, Iles P.E.Center, and residence halls

9 p.m - Overnight campers return to residence halls

9 p.m - Local campers picked up in front of Wright Hall

10 p.m - RAs begin room checks for the night in residence halls

Thursday (June 4)

7:30 a.m - Breakfast in Dining Hall

8 a.m - Local campers check in at Wright Hall 

8:30 a.m - Camp sessions begin

12-1 p.m - Lunch in Dining Hall

1 p.m - Wrap-up session in Lynn Wood Hall Chapel

2 p.m - Overnight campers pack up and clean residence halls

2 p.m - Local campers picked up by parents

2:30 p.m - Shuttle departure for Chattanooga Airport

3 p.m - Shuttle departure for Nashville and Atlanta areas

Blend classroom instruction with hands-on lab experiences as you perform general maintenance and repairs on your own vehicle or shop-provided cars and trucks. While disassembling engines, learn the inner workings of modern automotive systems and gain a deeper understanding of how vehicles operate. Observe the day-to-day responsibilities of automotive professionals and real-world applications. As a bonus, explore pathways after graduation and career opportunities within the industry, including owning and operating your own automotive business. Examine what a Christ-centered approach looks like for individuals pursuing a rewarding, hands-on career in the automotive field.

Instructors:  Steven Oskins and Danny Coon, Applied Technology Program

Capacity: 12

Additional requirements: Closed-toe shoes and clothes that can get dirty

In this hands-on ceramics camp, you'll learn several hand-building techniques and discover how to transform your creations into finished works of art using a variety of surface decoration methods including glazing, carving, and texturing. You'll take those completed pieces home. The final portion of camp introduces the potter's wheel, where you'll experience the thrill and challenge of throwing clay. While time constraints mean thrown pieces won't be kept, the skills and confidence you build will stick with you long after camp ends. No experience necessary, just come ready to get your hands dirty.

• Instructor: Loren Howard
• Capacity: 15
• Additional Requirements: Wear clothes that can get dirty. All materials and tools will be provided by the School of Visual Art & Design.

Have you ever watched a character on screen and wondered how it came to life? In this camp, you'll dive into the principles of character design, learning how shapes, proportions, and personality work together to create memorable characters from the ground up. Then you'll step into the animator's seat, using pre-built digital rigs to explore movement and performance, discovering how timing, weight, and emotion can breathe life and personality into a still digital character. Whether you're a sketchbook doodler or a future animator, this camp gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how the characters you love are designed and brought to life.

• Instructor: Christin Lee
• Capacity: 10
• Additional Requirements: Equipment will be provided by the School of Visual Art & Design.

Discover the power of influence through faith and creativity while you explore how to use social media ethically to share meaningful content and positively impact others as believers. Engage in hands-on activities, including creating high-quality photos, vertical videos, and a podcast episode in a television studio. Experience the vibrant atmosphere of a college campus, and make new friends while building skills that inspire, connect, and make a difference. This immersive program equips you with practical tools for social media and also provides a glimpse into exciting career paths available through Southern. Join us to build your faith, amplify your voice, and grow as a Christian influencer in a digital world.

Instructor: Professor Pablo Fernandez, School of Journalism and Communication

Capacity: 20

 

Want to strengthen your study skills, build academic confidence, and learn how to take ownership of your own learning? Through mini‑lessons, hands‑on activities, group collaboration, and reflection, you and other Bear Strong campers will each discover how your brain learns, how to study with purpose, how to bounce back from setbacks, and how to apply proven techniques such as active recall, spaced practice, and metacognitive planning. Grounded in principles from Saundra McGuire’s Teach Yourself How to Learn framework, you will be guided through mindset development, effective study strategies, productive struggle, and self‑regulated learning—all in an engaging, faith‑integrated environment. The week's culmination is a vision board capstone project that empowers you to define who you want to become as a learner and how you will respond when challenges arise. Be ready to return to school more confident, more strategic, and ready to learn boldly.

Instructors: Cheri Durst, Student Success and Retention Services Coordinator; Renita Moore, First Year Experience Coordinator; and Nova Munselle, Career Services Coordinator

Capacity: 15

Have you ever wondered how computers see the world around them? Every time your phone's camera recognizes your face, a self-driving car identifies a pedestrian, or a medical imaging system detects signs of disease, computer vision is at work. This field of artificial intelligence teaches machines to interpret and understand visual information, much like how humans use their eyes and brains to make sense of what they see. Now you can understand the fundamentals behind computer vision as you join other campers in learning how to train computers to recognize and classify objects (such as handwritten numbers), build a rock-paper-scissors game controlled by your hand gestures, and develop a program that distinguishes between images

Instructor: Professor Harvey Alférez, PhD, School of Computing

Capacity: 20 

Additional requirements: A Google account for accessing Google Classroom and your own laptop, if possible (although computers are provided for camp experiments) 

Want to grow as a writer, deepen your sense of calling, and discover how creativity and experience shape both your work and your future? The Living Page camp is designed for students who love stories, ideas, and the outdoors. Write where inspiration lives—on the trail, by the water, and in moments of quiet reflection—while building skills that matter far beyond the page.

🌿 Active and experiential: Put pen to paper after short hikes, canoe trips, and outdoor explorations that spark imagination and fresh perspective.

✍️ Creative workshops: Create and share your writing in fun, collaborative spaced.

🔍 Learning by doing: Observe, question, draft, revise, and get input from peers—just like professional writers.

🙏 Spiritual growth: Connect creativity, faith, and purpose through guided reflection sessions.

🚀 Future focused: Strengthen communication, critical thinking, leadership, and creativity skills essential for careers in writing, law, education, ministry, marketing, publishing, media, and beyond.

Instructors: To be announced

Capacity: 20

Are you curious about how things work? Explore design thinking, problem solving, and hands‑on skills by dive into engineering design, testing, and technology. Tackle creative design challenges and try out tools and machines, all while discovering how engineers turn ideas into reality. 

Instructors: Professor Daniel Howard and Lab Support Engineer Wes Schofield, School of Engineering and Physics

Capacity: 20  

Learn the process for creating a short movie, including turning a story into a script, using a camera and lights to bring the script to life, and editing footage for a final product to impact and inspire audiences. All needed equpiment will be provided.

Instructor: Professor Nathan DeWild, School of Visual Art and Design

Capacity: 20

Are you passionate about the world of nature and interested in a purpose-driven career that combines adventure with helping others? Want to plan and lead adventures that advance God's work here on earth? This camp invites you to explore outdoor recreation and leadership while learning how to use your skills to serve and impact lives. Challenge yourself with exciting activities and adventures that promote health, wellness, and ministry. Gain knowledge, skills as a leader, and spiritual insights to pursue jobs in the outdoor industry, either through adventure therapy, emergency services, experiential education, outdoor ministry, or recreation. Key highlights will include:

• Adventure Activities: Tackle the high ropes course, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and caving.
• Hands-On Experiences: Apply skills in real-world outdoor settings.
• Leadership Training: Build teamwork, safety, and other proficiencies valued in the workplace.
• Spiritual Growth: Learn how outdoor experiences deepen faith and ministry.
• Career Pathways: Discover undergraduate programs offered through Southern.

Instructor: Professor Mike Harris, School of Health and Kinesiology

Capacity: 15

Think you might want to be a physician? Get a behind-the-scenes view of the profession while exploring biblical principles for finding meaning in medical careers. Uncover hidden diseases in x-rays, practice suturing, construct skeletons, and learn the inner workings of a scientific laboratory. Interact directly with physicians as well as pre-medical college students, and participate in a simulated hospital experience incorporating your newly acquired skills.

Prerequisites: Open to rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors

Instructor: Professor Paulo Dias, MD, Biology and Allied Health Department

Capacity: 20