Residential program for rising high school
juniors and seniors returns for a second year June 11-16
CONWAY, Arkansas (October 18, 2022)—Applications are now open for Life Launch @ Hendrix, a
weeklong residential summer program for rising high school juniors and seniors.
This summer’s session is set for Sunday, June 11 through Friday, June 16, 2023.
“Life Launch is designed for students who are interested in exploring
college life and career pathways, to grow together with a community of peers,
and have some fun along the way,” said Leigh Lassiter-Counts, director of
Career Services at Hendrix and co-director of Life Launch.
Summer 2023 will be the second offering of Life Launch, which
began last year with a pilot group of 36 students from seven states and has
plans to welcome a greater number of participants this summer. Life Launch 2023
will feature filmmaker and musician Justin Warren as the closing keynote speaker,
and a number of leaders from the Summer 2022 session will return.
Participants have consistently offered praise for last summer’s experience.
“Life Launch was an amazing week where I was able
to learn more about the year ahead of me and relieve some of the stress and
anxiety of applying to college,” said Sarah Mulhearn, who is now a senior at nearby
Conway High School. “It was a week that I would do over again if I could and
will never forget the other campers and the staff that helped create the
amazing environment.”
Lesli Barroso, a senior at Har-Ber High School in
Springdale, Arkansas, called Life Launch “one of the best opportunities I could
have had. I learned who I really am and met lots of people, including
professors who were caring and really friendly.”
Megan Lucas, Barroso’s classmate at Har-Ber, agreed.
“The professors were amazing and personable. They were open to talk at any time
about their intentions when it comes to learning; to teach meaningful things.”
Both students also spoke highly of the time spent in the dorms getting to know
peers they wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to meet, while learning
and growing together in that informal setting.
Oliver Catagnus, who is currently a junior at
Bentonville (Arkansas) High School, said he believed every Life Launch
participant left a better person than they were when they arrived.
“My time there was filled with joy and growth as
I made connections with incredible people and learned about myself and how to
prepare for the future,” he said. “This program has, personally, solidified
some of my goals while also bringing new
ones onto my radar.”
Admission
to Life Launch is a competitive process, with decisions
being made on a rolling basis between November 2022 and April 2023. Students
who apply by January 19, 2023 will be guaranteed a private room in one of
Hendrix College’s most modern residence halls for their stay at Life Launch.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway,
Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the
country’s leading liberal arts institutions and is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its
academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a
fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876,
Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.