Summer is underway, and while USC Iovine and Young Academy students have mostly headed off campus for the season, Iovine and Young Hall continues to bustle with eager young learners. From July 10 until July 21, the school is host to an Innovation Camp that provides LAUSD students with the opportunity to dig their heels into the learning framework that sets IYA apart, “training the next generation of doers, innovators and tinkerers in exploring different projects in product design, prototyping, and design strategy.” 

2023 marks the second summer high school students convened at IYA, prompted to come up with business ideas, and take them from vision to prototype in a matter of two weeks. Skills such as 3D design, coding, and digital making are introduced to campers to help them bring their creations to life. Trent Jones, current lecturer and maker-in-residence at IYA, is the program designer and facilitator of this unique camp experience. We got the chance to sit down with him to learn more about the ins and outs of the program, how it operates and why it’s so meaningful, as well as his hopes for its future. 

IYA: What does the Innovation Camp entail and what does it aim to accomplish? 

Trent Jones: It’s a camp that runs two weeks, 10 days. [We] run around 40 students through a series of workshops and activities that reflect more broadly what we do on a collegiate level. The goal is really to give exposure to some of the principles, workflows, actions, and practices of creative professionals here in this space to students at LAUSD. That’s the goal. 

IYA: How has the curriculum developed and evolved? 

It was me, a part of a small team of faculty and staff, including Matthew Manos, Lynn Miles, Danielle Boutier. We came together to identify what are some critical skills and mindsets here? … We have different opportunities to highlight these things. So, coming up with a prompt, dividing the students into teams and having each team go through an ideation or research process, arriving at an idea, visualizing that idea, and then getting to the point where they’re able to prototype some artifact. That comes in the form of something physical as well as something they can present visually. All of this is wrapped in a bow through some narrative they want to tell. Essentially those are the components that compose the overarching camp at a high level. 

IYA: How do you introduce campers to IYA’s learning environment and mindset? 

Alongside staff and the faculty who are facilitating, we have student mentors. These are current IYA students who serve as camp counselors, if you will, during that time. They’re interacting and sharing their own experiences from being in school. With those student mentors, they’re great. They keep a sense of order but their direct experience from being in school, all their knowledge, expertise, is something that balances out the whole program. We will also have guests. People unrelated to the space directly, or people who don’t work here who share an experience that is reflective of what we currently do. That breaks up the monolith of purely IYA, to get external perspectives. 

IYA: What have been some of the responses you’ve had to the camp experience? 

From the students we had last year, some of them have applied again for this year, knowing that it’s the same camp. There’s going to be differences or improvements from then to now. So, I think that’s indicative of a positive sign. The other thing is the number of applications we received jumped. There seems to be growing interest around the idea. The interactions with students who now go to Iovine and Young Center [an LAUSD high school inspired by IYA's unique curriculum] saw it as a great opportunity that they reflect on every time I go there and have a chance to visit. 

IYA: Are there lessons you’ve learned that you’re taking back to the school year? 

For a lesson learned is keeping the fun around learning. [It’s] something that isn’t exactly devoid in a collegiate environment, but can sometimes be ancillary. However, if it’s done right, it can make an experience all the better. That is something I want to continually practice in all educational endeavors. 

IYA: How would you describe the significance of a program like this? 

If anything, I just hope this is the start, as in we’re not just hosting people here. Trying to do endeavors where we’re getting out to the areas around USC to use what we have and use what we know to maybe effectuate a change in somebody’s life. This is a good starting point. I think we could grow. 

Interview edited and condensed for clarity. 

2023 marks the second summer high school students convened at IYA, prompted to come up with business ideas, and take them from vision to prototype in a matter of two weeks. Skills such as 3D design, coding, and digital making are introduced to campers to help them bring their creations to life.

Innovation Camp at IYA Brings High Schoolers’ Visions to Life