Area youth get taste of UMSL campus through camp experiences

Area youth get taste of UMSL campus through camp experiences

by Dave Benson | Jul 27, 2026

Programs across campus introduced participants of all ages to UMSL through creative, academic and recreational experiences.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis opened the Creative Arts Building less than a year ago, but the impact is already echoing throughout the Department of Music.

For the first time in the department's history, every music faculty member now works under one roof. Gone are the days of offices and classrooms scattered across campus, replaced by a bright, purpose-built space where colleagues can stop by one another's offices, students gather between classes and the sounds of rehearsals and practice sessions create the constant hum expected of a thriving music department.

"The CAB has given a tremendous boost to morale among students, faculty and staff," said Joanna Mendoza, professor of viola and chair of the department. "We are collaborators by nature, and we all have so much respect for one another, but this new building and how our offices are laid out, how the whole department is laid out now, with the openness, there's a different level of camaraderie that we've never had before."

This summer provided an opportunity to show the space and all that UMSL's Department of Music has to offer to future prospective students. Music camps and workshops in the Creative Arts Building and next door in the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center brought middle and high school students, along with college musicians, professional educators and older artists to campus to learn from UMSL faculty while experiencing the department's new home firsthand.

They were just some of the many summer programs that welcomed participants of all ages to UMSL, offering hands-on learning experiences across a variety of disciplines.

Keyboard Camp

Piano sounds filled the Creative Arts Building during the week of June 15-19 as Alla Voskoboynikova, professor of music and director of keyboard studies, welcomed 25 campers ranging in age from 10 to more than 70 for the ninth UMSL Keyboard Camp. The building's abundance of practice rooms - each equipped with a Steinway piano - meant participants could spend nearly every free moment honing their skills.

"Often times what would happen, because we didn't have many pianos and students couldn't find a good one to practice on, so they would be wandering around in the old building, not really knowing what to do," Voskoboynikova said. "We were telling them, 'Well, bring a book, bring your homework.' Now they can spend their quality time practicing at a Steinway piano, and that changes everything."

Campers received instruction from Voskoboynikova, UMSL piano faculty member Annie Hsieh Tzeng and Daniel Kuehler, an assistant professor of music at Hillsdale College and UMSL alumnus who studied under Voskoboynikova. The week also included an opening recital in the Arianna String Quartet Recital Hall and concluded with a celebratory performance for family and friends at the Touhill.

Painter Olga Rusinova helped students explore the connections between music and visual art, while field trips to Second Presbyterian Church and the Steinway Gallery introduced campers to the pipe organ and the craftsmanship behind Steinway pianos. Other activities included "piano yoga," listening sessions, games and master classes.

"Each day was different, filled with different types of activities," Voskoboynikova said. "It was a very good learning experience for them, and I don't think many music camps have that kind of variety."

String Camp

About 35 students ranging from eighth grade through high school spent the first three days of June honing their skills at UMSL's annual String Camp. Led by David Wacyk, assistant teaching professor of music and director of orchestras, campers rehearsed together as a full orchestra before breaking into instrument-specific sectionals, where violinists, violists, cellists and bassists received personalized instruction from UMSL faculty members and professional musicians.

Faculty members Corinne Stillwell and John McGrosso worked with violinists, Mendoza coached violists, Kurt Baldwin instructed cellists and Adam Anello led the bass section. Campers also attended a performance and question-and-answer session with the Arianna String Quartet, giving them an opportunity to hear the internationally acclaimed ensemble perform up close while learning more about chamber music.

Each day followed a schedule similar to a school day, with full orchestra rehearsals, sectionals and discussions culminating in an informal performance for family members on the final afternoon. Wacyk said keeping the camp intentionally small allows participants to receive individualized attention while building relationships with faculty and one another.

"We want to make sure that the students are getting small class sizes and getting real good access to our faculty in particular," Wacyk said.

While String Camp continued to use the Touhill, participants also toured the nearby Creative Arts Building and saw the department's new home firsthand.

"The Touhill has always been a wow factor for incoming students, but we never felt like we could showcase the old music building," Wacyk said. "But having this be our new home, I mean, I think it's been a game changer."

Drum Set and World Percussion Camp

The second UMSL Drum Set and World Percussion Camp, held June 1-5, introduced 25 participants to musical traditions they likely wouldn't encounter elsewhere. Led by Matt Henry, the weeklong camp combined drum set instruction with hands-on experiences in West African, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and frame drumming for students ranging from middle schoolers to adults.

"The purpose of this camp was to be different than any other camp that I saw being offered, certainly in the region, in the country," Henry said. "Focusing on drum set and world percussion - West African, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian - which is a lot of the subjects students don't get in their usual camps."

Students rotated through 10 drum set clinics presented by professional musicians and educators with ties to St. Louis, including Grammy-winning drummers Terreon Gully and Emanuel Harrold. They also studied West African hand drumming with Michael Taylor, Brazilian percussion with Dave Clark, Afro-Cuban percussion with Henry and frame drumming and cajón with former UMSL student Josh Daly before showcasing what they learned during a final performance for family and friends.

Henry said the camp welcomed participants from a wide range of ages and experience levels, from middle school students to adult hobbyists, creating opportunities for musicians to learn from one another as well as the instructors.

"The value of the younger kids and the middle school, high school and the adults being in the same all learning at the same time builds a sense of community that I want them to see, as well," Henry said.

With the new Creative Arts Building, Henry could also streamline the experience by keeping campers in one location throughout the day, allowing parents to drop students off in a single building while giving participants easy access to rehearsal spaces and classrooms.

"It basically allows for the camp to happen, and it allows it to sit inside of one building," Henry said. "When the parents can drop students off in a building and know that they're going to be in that building all day, it's sort of comforting for them."

Writers @ Play

Rather than focusing on grammar lessons or polished essays, Writers @ Play encourages middle school students to discover their creativity through storytelling, exploration and, as the name suggests, play.

Hosted by the Gateway Writing Project at UMSL, the weeklong camp welcomed students entering grades 6 through 8 for its third summer. Sessions were held June 8-12 at the Refresh Family Center in University City and July 6-9 at Crestwood Elementary School in the Lindbergh School District.

"We feel like young people often don't identify themselves as writers, and we think all people are writers," said Diana Hammond, co-director of the Gateway Writing Project. "We're trying to create a very inviting space for them to find their way into writing."

Each day blended structured writing lessons with community-building activities and unstructured creative play. Campers rotated through stations featuring art supplies, musical instruments, building materials, games and outdoor activities - using those experiences to inspire stories, poems, scripts and other creative projects. The week concluded with a celebration in which students shared their work through readings, performances and displays for family members.

Hammond said the camp places as much emphasis on the creative process as the finished product, helping students move beyond the idea that writing always has a "right" answer.

"We're trying to kind of disrupt that," Hammond said. "Here's something you made in 10 minutes. It might not be perfect, but let's celebrate that you made this thing."

The approach often resonates most with students who arrive unsure whether they enjoy writing at all.

"We've had kids being like, 'I didn't realize I could write,' or, 'It was fun to write,'" Hammond said. "If they haven't had that experience before, it can really shift their thinking about what they're capable of or what writing is."

Esports Summer Camp

The UMSL Esports Summer Camp gave students entering grades 8 through 11 the chance to experience competitive gaming in a collegiate setting. Held over multiple weeklong sessions from late June through early August, the camp introduced participants to the strategy, teamwork and problem-solving behind some of the most popular esports titles while familiarizing them with UMSL's growing esports program.

Many campers arrived with little or no experience playing competitive PC games. Each Monday through Thursday session focused on a different title, with students spending the morning learning game mechanics through tutorials and practice before putting their new skills to the test in friendly competitions later in the day.

"A lot of these kids coming in actually never really touched the PC game like that, and they haven't really touched the competitive game," said Bovey Zhang, UMSL's esports coordinator. "So we put them in an environment where they test it out. They learn it. They problem solve, and they play against each other during this camp."

The camp featured games representing several of the genres commonly played at the collegiate level, including League of Legends, VALORANT, Overwatch 2, Super Smash Bros. and 2XKO. Enrollment was capped at 12 students per week to match the number of gaming PCs available, with campers hailing from throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Beyond introducing students to competitive esports, Zhang hopes the camp also serves as their first glimpse of what UMSL has to offer.

"Hopefully, they took a good showing off of this. They enjoyed it. They want to come to this university," Zhang said. "I think that's the whole point of it all, right? Being able to kind of showcase that, I think it will intrigue students."

U-CREATE

For children looking for a summer filled with variety, U-CREATE offered a little bit of everything. The Recreation and Wellness Center's seven-week day camp, which began the first week of June, welcomed about 50 campers ages 6 to 12 each week, blending sports, arts and crafts, outdoor activities and special events into a schedule designed to keep kids off the couch and off the screens.

"The idea behind it was just to provide a summer camp where kids can be active and do a lot of different types of activities instead of just, you know, a sports camp or just an arts and crafts camp," said Carissa Short, coordinator for recreation sports and camp director. "We wanted to offer a variety."

Each day included arts and crafts, gym activities, outdoor recreation and swimming, while Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays featured rock climbing at the Recreation and Wellness Center. Weekly themes shaped many of the activities, and Thursdays brought special guests and events such as face painting, shaved ice, visits from local police officers and firefighters and other hands-on experiences.

The camp attracts children from across the St. Louis metropolitan area, including North County, St. Charles and Illinois. Many return summer after summer, with friendships growing alongside them.

"Usually the first week is when they're quiet because they're still getting to know each other," camp coordinator Makenzie Roberts said. "Then Week Two happens. They form their friend groups."

In addition to giving children a memorable summer experience, Short said U-CREATE often serves as an introduction to the university itself. As campers explore campus throughout the week, many begin imagining themselves returning in the future.

"We do get some families who haven't been to campus before, and so it's a good introduction that, 'Hey, here's all these things that we have,'" Short said. "I do think it's a good way for them to meet our community and see that it's a cool place to be."

Roberts has already heard that excitement from campers.

"Some of the kids have been like, 'I want to go to school here,'" she said.

NABA Accelerated Career Awareness Program

The NABA ACAP (Accelerated Career Awareness Program) gives high school juniors and seniors an immersive introduction to college life and careers in business. Held July 26-30, the weeklong residential program has been hosted at UMSL for approximately a decade, exposing students to fields such as accounting, finance, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship through workshops led by business professionals and faculty.

"The goal is to expose high school students from underrepresented communities to careers in business, specifically accounting, finance, cybersecurity - just any of the business majors," said Colleen Mpofu, assistant teaching professor of accounting and faculty advisor to UMSL's NABA chapter.

Throughout the week, students live in UMSL residence halls while attending educational sessions, networking with professionals and collaborating on a Shark Tank-style business competition. Teams develop business ideas over the course of the program before presenting them to a panel of judges, while other activities emphasize leadership and community engagement, including service projects benefiting the St. Louis region.

The program, which served about 60 students last year and is expected to welcome 80 this summer, is offered at no cost to participants through the support of community sponsors.

Although ACAP has long been affiliated with NABA, the program has become more closely connected with the Ed G. Smith College of Business since the university established its own student chapter of NABA three years ago. Mpofu said that partnership has strengthened the program's role as a pathway to the university.

"We have a little bit more access to the students," Mpofu said. "I am leading a session during that week with other faculty to teach the students about majors that are offered at UMSL."

That connection is already paying dividends. Mpofu said several current UMSL students first participated in ACAP as high schoolers before enrolling at the university, and they now return as volunteers to help mentor the next generation of participants.

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