All Seniors will take on guiding roles in the execution of the Beam Project, engage with a staff mentor in one-on-one apprenticeships in areas of their choice, and participate in a newly developed 15-hour Senior Course. The Senior Scheme is offered during the second session (7/26-8/19) for all campers aged 15 and over and tuition is $4,500.
Apprenticeships
Each Senior chooses a staff mentor to work alongside in one of Beam Camp’s operational areas including Workshop, Athletics, Digital Documentation, Culinary Arts, Agriculture, Facility Maintenance, Management & Planning, and Counseling and Child Development.
In the first two weeks of camp, Seniors spend 15 hours during afternoon Domain Periods assisting and learning from their mentor in their area of specialty. Seniors also work an additional 5-10 hours serving the camp community.
As an example, a Culinary Apprentice would spend an hour in the afternoon learning techniques in large-scale kitchen cooking and management while helping to prepare the next day’s full-camp breakfast. The apprentice would then return early the next morning to finish and serve the meal.
The Senior Course
In the final week of camp, all Seniors participate together in a one-week afternoon seminar exploring vocation and identity guided by invited Beam Scheme Leaders; prominent designers, builders, writers, engineers, philosophers or artists. The visiting Scheme Leaders share how they discovered their own passion and profession and how its practice has shaped their life. The intention is to inspire the Seniors to plot future options of their own. Seniors engage with the teachers in readings, projects and writing exercises to help them formulate their own vision of their future and how they articulate it for colleges and other post-high school opportunities.