Community Involvement
DECA's Community Involvement Office helps navigate students to and through the steps to meet the standards set out in our Gateway System. Our Community Involvement Specialist will help you find placements.
Each student is responsible to be in touch with our specialist and make sure they are on track to pass each gateway in turn. Contact: blewis@daytonearlycollege.org for any questions.
Office of Community Involvement
Students at DECA are required to fulfill a variety of community involvement activities, including participating in 100 hours of community service, fulfilling three job shadows and completing two outside internships prior to graduating. These activities have been established to create a link between school and community, as well as between abstract academic content and real world experiences. One important DECA philosophy is that a high school education should prepare students to respond to the world. Integrating community service, job shadows and internships into the curriculum is a valued step in that direction.
All community involvement is directed by DECA’s Office of Community Involvement. Using staff, parents, and community resources, DECA’s task is to build sustainable partnerships with community sponsors to accomplish our objectives.
Community Service
DECA partners with a wide variety of organizations and businesses to provide our students with community service opportunities that are mutually beneficial. Students are required to fulfill 100 hours of community service, and these hours are typically fulfilled in the first two to three years at DECA. Starting with group community service projects in the fall of their ninth grade year, students are expected to take full personal responsibility for the vast majority of their hours. Students work with a broad range of non-profit organizations, city and county agencies, churches and other faith-based groups and record and document their experiences through DECA’s Office of Community Involvement.
Job Shadows and Internships
DECA continues its community involvement partnerships through our job shadow and internship programs. All DECA students are required to participate in three job shadows and two internships prior to graduating. Job shadows consist of on-site visits to businesses or organizations, typically for a half or full day. Ideally, these job shadows are aligned with a field of study and career path that the student is interested in learning more about. Internships are a more in-depth opportunity for students to learn about a field that interests them by spending roughly 40 experiential hours on site with a professional in the field of interest. Job shadows and internships culminate in written reflections of the experience and the students’ evaluation of the field and what they have learned about it.
Click Here
For the Community Service Contract
Click here
For a list of recommended Community Service Sites
Summer Internships 2023
Female Aspiring Business Scholars Summer Program
The Female Aspiring Business Scholars (FABs) Summer Program offers young women an introduction to business and an opportunity to earn 3 hours of college credit through seminars with UD faculty and business professionals, local networking events, and professional skills workshops. Through immersive and interactive experiences on and around the University of Dayton campus, students will build their professional skills and learn to apply essential business practices to design their own business plans. FABs is open to rising high school juniors and seniors.
When: Sunday, June 25th - Friday, June 30, 2023
UD’s Summer Engineering Experience
In-person residential Summer Engineering Experiences at the University of Dayton (SEE-UD) are here! We are offering in-person summer camps to rising high school seniors (class of 2024) and juniors (class of 2025). Our experiences will expose you to the world of engineering and student life at the University of Dayton. You will have the opportunity to explore the diverse engineering fields through collaborative and interactive, faculty-led sessions. All three camps are open to rising high school seniors (class of 2024) and juniors (class of 2025) with a 3.0 GPA. Scholarships are available.
- Co-Ed Engineering Camp (CEC)
- Date: June 21 - 24, 2023
- Women in Engineering Camp (WIE)
- Date: June 14 - 17, 2023
- Multi-Ethnic Men in Engineering Camp (M2E)
- Date: June 14 - 17, 2023
All three camps are open to rising high school seniors (class of 2024) and juniors (class of 2025) with a 3.0 GPA.
Miami University Summer Scholars
The Summer Scholars Program is a week-long* summer experience for high-achieving high school students who will be juniors or seniors the following fall. This program provides experiential learning opportunities that will prepare you for college and future success. The Summer Scholars curriculum is built for active learners. Students participate in lively discussions, hands-on projects, and real-world experiences with our faculty.
Student Citizens
Student Citizens is a new, summer scholarship program focused on the humanities and designed for rising seniors who attend high schools in southwest Ohio (50-mile radius of Miami's Oxford campus). Participants will explore the meaning of citizenship through rigorous examination and discussion of classic texts. They will engage in critical thinking and writing seminars with Miami faculty, form relationships with undergraduate student mentors, and experience the power of the humanities to address the social issues that confront us today.
Buckeye Pre-college Summer Institutes
The Summer Institutes will enroll students from across the United States for an intensive academic experience on the Columbus campus. Participants will be selected through a competitive application process, and placed into a course determined to be the best fit for their interests and academic readiness. Students will live in campus residence halls and participate in a single course specially designed by Ohio State instructors for pre-college students. They will be overseen by a team of undergraduate and graduate Residential Counselors, who serve a dual role as residential assistants and academic tutors.
Sinclair Community College Unmanned Areial Systems Camp
The camp will be held in Building 13 at Sinclair Community College, July 26 - 28 from 9 am to 3 pm. The school dress code applies and students must wear closed-toed shoes. Pack your lunch each day. Checks or cash for $20 must be made payable to the Dayton Early College Academy by June 1, 2023 at DECA High in the main office. Please put it in an envelope labeled for Ms. Martz RE: UAS Camp Sinclair.
University of Toledo School of Pharmacy and Science Camp
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When: Monday, June 12 -Thursday, June 15
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Where: In-person camp where campers will stay in UToledo dorm rooms
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Who: Sophomores and Juniors
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Cost: $300 (scholarships are available)
The Beauty of Science Virtual Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design Summer Camp
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Wednesday, June 21 – Friday, June 23
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100% virtual camp
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Campers will discover the science behind their cosmetic and personal care products and even learn to make some of their own!
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Cost: $100 (scholarships are available)
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Campers will receive a camp kit worth over $200 with gifts from the presenters, supplies and samples needed for the hands-on portion of the virtual camp experience, and a camp t-shirt.
WRIGHT SCHOLAR RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROGRAM
The Wright Scholar Research Assistant Program is an Air Force Research Laboratory initiative designed to expose high school juniors and seniors to various disciplines of engineering and science. Camp date June 12 - August 11 2023.
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Must be a high school junior or senior
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GPA 3.5
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Must have a valid driver’s license
NCCJ Anytown Youth Leadership Institute
Participants from across the Miami Valley come together to engage in conversation and education about diversity, equity, and inclusion. At our institute, delegates spend time extensively participating in activities surrounding specific DEI issues. Delegates engage in activities around race, gender, ability/disability, class, allyship, and more.
Horizon Medicine
Horizons in Medicine is a program designed to give Dayton-area students a sense of the career possibilities in the healthcare industry. Learn key concepts early and prepare to enter the medical field. Programming is designed for students who have completed their junior or senior year of high school and have completed chemistry.
Program Dates June 2–July 1, 2023
Dayton M.A.D.E
DAYTON (BIO)MANUFACTURING AWARENESS AND DISCOVERY EXPERIENCE - COMING SUMMER 2023!
Are you a Dayton-Area High School student passionate, interested, or just curious about biotechnology and biomanufacturing?
Learn more about an amazing opportunity, and fill out the application below!
Clubhouse
Clubhouse is a free afterschool and summer tutoring program. Teens in 7-12 grade volunteer to tutor and mentor children in 2-6 grade, who have limited opportunities. At Clubhouse, teens help build life skills and confidence in a child’s ability.
Discovering Entrepreneurship
Through immersive and interactive experiences at The Hub powered by PNC Bank, students will build their professional skills and learn to apply essential business practices to design their own business plans and pitch their business idea in a final pitch competition. Students who successfully complete the program will receive three college credit hours through the University of Dayton regardless of admissions status. Applications will be open from February 15, 2023 - April 15, 2023.
Lindner Summer Institute
Lindner Summer Institute is a residential camp for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors who are young women or identify as African American/Black, Native American or Hispanic/ Latino. This event will take place Sunday, June 4 - Wednesday, June 7, and students must commit to participate in the entire program, including staying overnight in the residence halls.
Summer Institute for Future Nurses
The Summer Institute for Future Nurses allows high school students to experience lectures, nursing skills labs, and panels featuring faculty, nursing students, and staff. The Summer Institute for Future Nurses is open to current high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This program aims to increase the number of historically underrepresented students in nursing. Programming is FREE to attend.
Here are the eligibility requirements:
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Current high school freshmen (including students who will have graduated 8th grade in the spring), sophomores, juniors, and seniors (including seniors who will be graduating in the spring)
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A demonstrated commitment to diversity, interest in nursing, and interest in pursuing your education at The Ohio State University
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Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better
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Completed application, including four short essays
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Provide an electronic copy of your most recent transcript
OR recommendation letter from a guidance counselor or teacher indicating your GPA
OR report card
UC DAPP Program
Here is some exciting news! The 2023 DAAPcamps summer experiential camps at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning are open for registration. We'd love to host your students this summer on the world-renowned University of Cincinnati campus! There are two types of camps we offer:
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Day Camps, for students entering 9th-12th grades, will be held Monday-Friday, June 12-16, 2023, from 9am-5pm.
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Residential Camps, for students entering 10th-12th grades, will be held Sunday-Saturday, June 25-July 1.
Please feel free to share out camp options available to your students and learn more about all our DAAPcamps offer.
