DETROIT, Mich. July 18, 2007 –- They’ve traded in idle summer days for classes, homework and trips to local industry. And for the 32 teenagers attending Wayne State University’s High School Engineering Training Institute (HSETI), summertime begins Friday afternoon when the four-week program ends with their final presentations.

“We want to engage them in science, math and engineering when their dreams are still strong,” says Gerald Thompkins, associate dean and creator of the WSU high school engineering program. “The experience they’re getting will prepare them well for the university setting.”

Students from Detroit metro area high schools in Wayne State’s HSETI program begin the summer before ninth grade, attend the summer program and Saturdays during the school year until they graduate. Most in the current group began in 2005.

To apply, students submit a school transcript, a list of extracurricular activities and student offices held, as well as any honors or awards they have received. The application process is extremely competitive, says Tash Linder-Haynes, director of the program. "When students find out they’ve been accepted, they\'re very excited," she says. "And so are the parents."

The students take engineering, math, English and job search skills classes. The courses vary from year to year. This summer the students are taking math, science, civil engineering, investigation in engineering, computer science, and personal and professional development.

On Fridays, the students take field trips to see engineering being applied in industry. This summer they visited the COSI science museum in Toledo, the General Motors Proving Grounds and the Pepsi Bottling Group Detroit production and distribution facility.

Mackenzie High School junior Jamaul Hall learned about the program from an adviser at his school, located in Detroit. He decided to pursue a degree in engineering at Wayne State University after he graduates, he says. "I got in because I really wanted to experience being on a college campus and to try the engineering thing.”

The summer session concludes Friday with closing presentations. The students report in groups on their classes and field trips in a setting similar to a corporate shareholders meeting. Their guests -- families and friends -- will be asked to vote on whether the sessions were a success. The best performing student earns the honor of introducing the keynote speaker, 25-year-old engineer and drag racer Brian Olantunja.

"The students are really going to be the star of the show," Linder-Haynes says.