At a time when many high school students are kicking back for summer break, 30 students from Detroit and Inkster high schools are getting a leg up at a nine-week camp designed to prepare them for life after high school. The Wayne State University School of Business Administration's E-commerce Summer Camp experience combines classroom instruction on business, technology, college preparation and life skills with a paid summer internship and mentoring. The top 10 graduates from the program receive a free computer system.

"This camp is one excellent illustration of how Wayne State leverages its resources to serve the community," explains David Williams, dean of the School of Business Administration. "Our partnerships with area businesses and relationships with local high schools enable us to deliver a unique educational opportunity for high school students. Everybody wins."

Students begin the camp with one full week of classroom instruction, including an orientation to Wayne State, hands-on computer and technical instruction, and professional development training. The next four weeks include one-half day of classroom instruction and professional development, with one-half day at the paid internship. The final four weeks of the program, students work full time at their internship location.

Internship locations include: American Axle, Budco, Compuware, the DIA, Ford, VisionIT, Wayne State, and others. Classroom topics range from computer application training and web site development to creating and delivering presentations. Wayne State business school students mentor the campers throughout the program.

The School of Business has graduated 230 students from this annual summer program since its inception in 2001. The high school graduation rate for program graduates is currently 100 percent. More than three-quarters of these students have enrolled in post secondary education.

E-commerce Summer Camp student Orlando Collins shares ideas with his fellow campers during a group discussion.	E-commerce Summer Camp students Demetrius Dixon, DeJone Miles and Tufayil Ahmed practice skills learned during the Camp's business computing lessons.
E-commerce Summer Camp students work on a marketing plan for their proposed online greeting card company. From left: Tufayil Ahmed; Precious Griffith; Kiantee Rupert-Randell, E-commerce Camp Director; DeMarco Moore; and Kenya Daniels.	E-commerce Summer Camp participant Brittney Walker listens as technical instructor Sonja Grantham presents the camp's initial computer lesson.

Wayne State University is a premier research institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic degree programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.

The School of Business Administration at Wayne State University has graduated more than 30,000 business and community professionals since its founding in 1946 and continues to provide quality business education through AACSB accredited business degree programs.