Five Bainbridge Middle School and Bainbridge High School students spent a portion of their summer in one of Duke University’s TIP (Talent Identification Program) Summer Programs.

Noah Thorn, Jakob Thorn, Caroline New, Sarah Anne New and James Clemons participated in one of the intense three-week programs that challenges students in areas they may not otherwise be exposed.

Noah Thorn explored crime-investigating techniques in Forensic Science at Duke University’s West Campus.

Jakob Thorn’s Crisis and Conflict: America on the Global Stage course exposed him to American foreign policy and international politics at Davidson College.

At Appalachian State University, Sarah Anne New found theater arts a new experience as she studied the history of theater and took part in critiquing, writing and performing short dramas.

James Clemons examined the history and culture of Appalachian life through Appalachian folk tales and bluegrass music at Appalachian State University.

Her second year at Duke TIP, Caroline New explored journalism in today’s digital age in Media and Message: Communicating in the Digital Age at University of Georgia.

While the classes were academically intense, the program also included a variety of daily recreational activities from ultimate frisbee to sporting events to dances and college town excursions.

Duke TIP’s seventh-grade talent search identifies academically talented seventh-graders based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary and middle school. Candidates are then invited to take the SAT or the ACT as seventh-graders, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. Students meeting score criteria are then qualified to enroll in Duke TIP’s programs through 12th grade.

Now in its 30th year, Duke TIP’s seventh-grade talent search is the largest program of its kind in the nation, representing participation from 6,000 junior high and middle schools in the Duke TIP 16-state region.

More than 2 million students have participated in the talent search since its inception in 1980.

Seventh-grade students in Decatur County, who are eligible to participate in the talent search, will be receiving information through their school.

This opportunity not only broadens students academically but also serves as motivation for them to continue to achieve in school.