Facts and fun: College students mentor hundreds of campers at Georgia College Kids’ University
I t’s a rowdy, loud gathering. Bodies swaying, feet tapping as a dozen college counselors hand out stickers and lead the familiar camp song: “Kids’ University, where we learn and swim and play. Kids’ University where we have fun all day…”
The campers in this group, K-6 graders, raise their hands, showing their fingers for a five-fingered contract. They solemnly recite:
I will be safe.
I will be committed.
I will be respectful.
I will be responsible.
I will be my best.
Welcome to Kids’ University (Kids’ U) at Georgia College.
This summer, more than 400 youngsters got to be explorers, scavengers, actors and scientists during nine weeks of camp. They learned a little of just about everything—from the great outdoors and cultures around the world to hometown heroes and creepy crawlies.
It’s fun for campers and for the college students who mentor them.
“It’s really a great opportunity and a great experience to spend time with children and to see their personalities shine, to see their growth,” said junior Stelios Spirou of Milledgeville.
A political science major, Spirou brought a little of his own expertise to camp this summer. He taught about the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and freedom. He enjoyed his time guiding tomorrow’s leaders.

During bug week, a classroom at West Campus was filled with microscopes and mounds of arts-n-crafts material—glitter, glue, scissors, paints, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons. There were books about bugs, glass vials of dead bugs and tubs of dirty, rotten logs filled with—you guessed it—more bugs.
Screams of “Yuck,” “Ew” or “Wow” filled the air as campers used tweezers and fingers to pull giant beetles and larvae from rotted logs. One group even found a small scorpion that was safely collected by counselors and put on display for all to see.
They went on hikes to explore bugs and nature. Campers learned about the lifecycle of bugs, drew bugs, painted bugs and built bugs. Each day included time in the pool, a reading period, games and special activities. Each week ended with a celebration, so campers could show off what they learned to their parents.

"Kids' U counselors offer the youth of Baldwin County creative, fun and exploratory learning opportunities in a welcoming camp environment,” said Nancy Finney, director of Kids’ U and program coordinator for the department of Continuing and Professional Education, which is part of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SoCPS).
“Kids' U also provides counselors an opportunity to apply hands-on learning and leadership skills,” she said. “Working at Kids' University gives Georgia College students a chance to learn about their strengths and become more self-aware as they prepare to graduate. Leading a summer camp and group of kids helps them lead meetings down the road and, for our future teachers, it helps them acquire the skills they’ll need before joining the workforce.”

“I love how this summer we’ve really gotten to integrate some different themes into our curriculum every day,” Posey said. “We have electives where counselors get to collaborate and work with an activity of their own special interest.”

Ruth Eilers, ’02, ’16, is director of Academic Outreach, which operates under SoCPS. She enjoyed Kids’ U as a guest speaker and a parent. Her 9-year-old son, Ben, was enrolled. She enthralled youngsters with bug facts as she passed around glass vials of dragonflies, praying mantises, mosquitos, bees, beetles and other insects.
She had two college students working with her: a recent environmental science graduate, Nicole Wright, and sophomore Jackson Taylor, who’s majoring in special education.
“If you can handle a group of 2nd graders,” Eilers said. “You can handle most anything that comes at you. Students learn group management skills—understanding how to keep a group engaged and when it’s time to move on.”
“Knowing those subtle things makes them much better at their jobs,” she said, “no matter what they end up doing in the future.”

Her duties are to make sure kids are engaged with the outdoors and each other. Her favorite part is the hour of classroom instruction they give campers each day. She loves to lead question-and-answer sessions—even when her campers’ questions are more than she can answer.
This allows them to embark “on a wonderful expedition” of finding the answers together.
It’s a perfect way for Franklin to practice her teaching skills, while also engaging youth in conversations about college.
“If I can have my kids walk away from here and know that there’s something more out there,” she said, “then I feel like I’ve done my job.”