About the Camp
The Global Citizen Summer Camp is a non-residential camp for middle school students (rising 6th through 8th graders). Through a variety of interactive and age appropriate activities, students are taught to step outside their comfort zone and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to and navigate within multiple and diverse communities. Students will learn basics of four world languages (Arabic, Chinese, French & German) through an immersive experience and participate in activities that focus on developing intercultural competence and global citizenship.
Objectives
The overarching objectives are to promote skills in students to effectively:
- Communicate in the language of the people with whom one is interacting
- Interact with awareness, sensitivity, empathy, and knowledge of the perspectives of others
- Have developed cultural self-awareness and examined their beliefs, values, and assumptions regarding cultural differences
- Withhold judgment, examining one’s own perspectives as similar to or different from the perspectives of people with whom one is interacting
- Be alert to cultural differences in situations outside of one’s culture, including noticing cues indicating miscommunication or causing an inappropriate action or response in a situation
- Act respectfully according to what is appropriate in the culture and the situation where everyone is not of the same culture or language background, including gestures, expressions, and behaviors
- Increase knowledge about the products, practices, and perspectives of other cultures
Additional Information
- The camp will cap at a maximum of 20 students
- Students will spend half the day having a language (Arabic, Chinese, French & German) immersion experience and the other half learning about Intercultural Competence
- The cost for the camp is $200 (with limited needs-based scholarships; a discount is also available for enrolling more than one student from the same household - check out our registration form for more payment details)
- Students who attend the whole week of camp will be given a Certificate of Participation
Questions?
For any questions regarding the summer camp or to request to add your child/children to our waiting list, please email us at CLLCPrograms@osu.edu.
Photos
To see photos from previous summer camps, please check out our photo gallery!
Meet the Team
Sandhya Shanker is an Education Program Senior Specialist at the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures and is the camp coordinator. She is largely responsible for coordinating and collaborating on existing initiatives as well as envisioning and designing new initiatives related to the promotion of Intercultural Competence (IC) on campus. Sandhya is also an instructor for a General Education course at OSU titled FRIT 3054 (21st Century Skill: Intercultural Competence for Global Citizenship) and is a Qualified Administrator for the IDI © assessment. Prior to joining the CLLC in July 2023, Sandhya served as Director of the Community Language School at Michigan State University where she developed and supervised language programs as well as language and culture events for the larger community serving preschoolers to adults.
Carter Anderson is pursuing a German major at the Ohio State University, with minors in French and history, and has been learning German since the seventh grade. Last year, he studied abroad at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg in Austria, on the border with Germany. While there, Carter attended Austrian cultural events like Maibaumaufstellen (maypole raisings), and concerts featuring music from Salzburg’s own: Mozart. He also gained experience with South-German dialects and passed the Austrian German Language Diploma (ÖSD) B2-level German exam. In addition to German, he also has experience learning French and Dutch. In his free time, Carter enjoys playing board games, listening to music, and reading books, currently the 2021 German bestseller Hard Land by Benedict Wells.
Alexandra Jones is a third-year student at The Ohio State University double-majoring in Chinese and Psychology, with minors in Criminology and Moving-Image Production. A Land Grant Full Ride Scholar with a 4.0 GPA, she has studied Chinese for nearly 10 years and recently completed a scholarship-funded study abroad program at Feng Chia University in Taiwan. Alexandra is proficient in Mandarin and was awarded the 2025 East Asian Languages and Literatures (DEALL) Undergraduate Award and second place in the DEALL Research Forum. She co-founded and served as the first Vice President of DEALL USO, a student organization supporting Chinese, Korean, and Japanese language students. With experience as a camp counselor and international student orientation leader, Alexandra brings strong leadership, mentorship, and intercultural communication skills to the program.
Asmaa Al-Ibraheem is an undergraduate at The Ohio State University pursuing a dual degree in Biomedical Engineering and Arabic. She has over four years of experience teaching Arabic to elementary and middle school students at the Noor Academy Sunday School (NASS), where she designs interactive lessons to foster language acquisition and appreciation. At OSU, she also serves as an Arabic tutor, supporting students in beginner and intermediate-level courses. Passionate about intercultural engagement, she recently presented on the cultural and historical significance of dates in Iraq, a presentation that was featured by the Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures (NESA). Through the Global Citizen Summer Camp, she is excited to share her love for the Arabic language and culture with middle school students while helping them develop global awareness and curiosity.
Clarice Newman and is a third-year undergraduate student studying Political Science, French, and Spanish. She has been learning French ever since she was little since her mom is a French immigrant. She loves going to France to visit her family and looks forward to seeing them later this July. She is always looking for a chance to practice her French. In fact, she loves any opportunity for new cultural experiences. She's excited to share her culture and language with students this summer.