David Neel, residence hall director at Taylor, said he isn’t just a sleep-deprived new dad fighting a cold: he’s also the man running Taylor’s academic summer camps.
These camps invite high schoolers to explore various majors available at Taylor while they consider career aspirations and life after high school. Taking place June 14-19, the camps teach forensic science, health science, musical theatre and dance, songwriting and worship arts in fun and impactful ways, he said.
Neel is proud of the camps’ professional and spiritual impact.
“I've even seen people who made huge decisions for Christ at camp, and their life changed because of what they got to experience here,” Neel said. “And so I'm excited that Taylor believes in this camp and that we continue to put time, energy and effort into making this a great experience.”
Neel anticipated 70 high schoolers would register for Taylor’s 2026 summer camp. As of May 11, 87 students signed up, exceeding his expectations.
These students will experience a snapshot of “life at college.”
They will live on campus, eat with friends at the Hodson Dining Commons and attend their classes throughout the day. Campers will create projects related to their field of study: short films, engineering projects, songwriting and more. They will have individual devotional time in the morning with Bible prompts.
At night, they’ll participate in a chapel service with worship and a message, engage in small group discipleship and play games, such as mega kickball with a six-foot kickball, Neel said.
Neel’s team is also working on a camp booklet to provide students resources like devotional prompts, journaling space, camp rules and a campus map.
Many students come to these summer camps without any connection to Taylor. The program serves as a starting point for integrating into the university’s community, Brandon Dykstra, department chair and associate professor of kinesiology, said. Dykstra co-leads the university’s health science summer camp.
These camps significantly impact enrollment numbers. Dykstra recognizes many students from these camps in his classes or around campus in following school years, he said.
About 30 to 40 percent of students at these camps end up enrolling at Taylor, Kathy Bruner, department co-chair and professor of film and media arts at Taylor, said.
The camps also help high schoolers explore careers of interest, Dykstra said.
“Most of the students who are in the health science camp are not necessarily thinking of exercise science,” Dykstra said. “So having kind of a broader exposure to those other fields is good as well.”
The health science camp serves students interested in a broad variety of healthcare careers, discussing theology of the body, applied exercise science and exercise programming. They will tour the Invitation Health and Wellness Clinic, discuss Taylor’s involvement in the facility and test various health measurements including VO2 max, pulmonary functioning, electrocardiography and muscle analysis via ultrasound.
The film camp will provide students opportunities to explore camera work, microphone operation, acting, editing, film poster design, music creation, graphics and more. Professors will lecture on the building blocks of a good story, the integration of faith and film and filmmaking logistics, Bruner said.
Camps are high energy, crazy and exhausting. Bruner and her fellow film professors John Bruner, Lincoln Reed, Steve Bailey and Josh Taylor run Taylor’s film camp.
Film camp adopts an absurd challenge: taking students without film experience and helping them write, shoot, edit, fine-tune and screen a film in five days.
“So they get here on Sunday evening, and we screen the film on Friday,” Bruner said. “It is crazy. It's exactly what we would not tell our current students to do.”
Jackie Hicks, junior film and media arts major who has both served at these camps and attended them during high school, chose Taylor and her major because of the experience the camp provided her, she said.
Before film camp, Hicks lacked the opportunity to practically explore the inner workings of film. She wondered if she merely liked the idea of film, rather than filmmaking as a career. Taylor’s film camp confirmed her passion for film and envisioned life at Taylor for her.
“I remember calling my parents that night at like, 10 or 11 p.m. when I got back, I was like, ‘I think I have to do this film thing.’ Like I was filled with so much energy,” she said.
Many students’ stories echo hers, Hicks said.
Regardless of the camp students select, they don’t need prior experience to attend. All camps help students visualize life at Taylor, practice Scripture engagement and explore new paths.
“There's so much opportunity for everyone based on their individual skills,” Bruner said. “It feels more like there's someone who's right there along with you, helping you learn.”
To sign up for next year, students can reach out to camps@taylor.edu.
