BCYC Immersion is a Catholic academic summer camp for high school students hosted by Benedictine College, combining an educational summer camp and a Catholic youth camp. Each participant chooses an area of interest which they pursue in classes throughout the week. The week also features numerous faith-based activities, including daily Mass and Bible Studies and is rounded out with tons of fun—capture the flag, a country-style dance, bubble soccer and more, all while students explore our beautiful campus in Atchison, Kansas.
Benedictine College’s BCYC Immersion summer camp takes place on our beautiful campus on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas, a small and richly historic city forty-five miles north of Kansas City.
Academic Experience
The interest tracks at BCYC Immersion are designed to give participants a weeklong snapshot of the learning experience of our college-level students, with almost all tracks taught by the same expert instructors who teach in Benedictine College’s undergraduate programs.
During afternoon class sessions Monday through Wednesday, high school students learn key skills and fundamental principles in their chosen areas of study while forming friendships with their instructors and classmates over these shared interests.
On Thursday afternoon everyone comes together for the Track Presentations, a fun spectacle of energetic skits and demonstrations where participants get to share what they have learned with the whole camp community.
Faith & Christian Formation
Throughout the week, BCYC Immersion participants receive numerous opportunities for reception of the Sacraments, Biblical study, personal prayer and spiritual growth.
The Sacraments
Participants attend the Opening Mass on Sunday, as well as Daily Mass on campus each day of the week. Students are also given the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Confession during a dedicated time of Adoration and Confession.
Bible Studies and Small Groups
Students are divided into Small Groups, which encourage close personal connections, conversations, and fellowship related to the Faith and the spiritual life. Scriptural reading and discussion of Biblical passages is a key activity for these Small Groups.
Personal and Group Prayer
Participants join in the beautiful tradition of the Liturgy of the Hours, gathering as a community for Morning and Night Prayer each day of the program. In addition, students have many opportunities for personal prayer, including guided prayer sessions that encourage deepening their prayer life and relationship with Jesus Christ.
Eucharistic Adoration
As the camp nears its end Thursday evening, students participate in a Holy Hour prefaced by a short talk from a camp missionary or another ministry leader. During this time of Adoration of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, students are also given the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Penance.
Activities & Fellowship
What would a high school summer camp be without a slew of fun activities? BCYC Immersion is no exception, and our youth participants have a total blast and form enduring, even lifelong friendships while doing it.
Capture the Flag
Build community, make friends and get to know campus by dashing, dodging and evading capture at the hands of your temporary enemies (i.e. fellow camp participants).
Water Games
As the afternoon heats up, the Water Games keep you cool and moving. Sponge Run, Overhead Cup Relay, Team Water Balloon Toss — doesn’t matter what we play as long as we get soaked.
Paint Powder Battle
Wet from the Water Games, we jump right into the Paint Powder Battle. Grab bags of colorful powder and toss them at your campmates in a summer version of a snowball fight. The battle is over when everyone looks like a preschool art project.
Olympics and Bubble Soccer
Put your skills to the test with a bunch of fun active games! Play volleyball with a gargantuan 8-foot beach ball, or get inside your giant padded bubble shell and try to play Bubble Soccer on an open field with a bunch of other bubble-armored teens.
Countryside Hike
The bluffs above the Missouri River are a wonderful place to experience the natural beauty of both Kansas and Missouri.
Barn-style Dance
Participants enjoy fellowship and camaraderie in a country-style dance, swing lessons included!
Camp Highlights Video
See participants and missionaries in action during a week of faith, learning, fellowship and fun.
Create digital graphics and video, including photography, footage editing, animated graphics and social media components, using the same production software used by top-level professionals!
My favorite part of BCYC was doing photography out of the Media Production track.
Human beings are social creatures who shape and are shaped by societies. How do societies work? Participants will ask essential questions and explore issues like political polarization and social inequality to gain a better understanding of society and of themselves.
Learn how the complexities of God’s universe — motion, energy, electricity, magnetism, light, sound — can be explored using the tools of experimental science.
It’s hard to improve on lasers and glowing element tubes!
We know that, as a parent, you are the primary educator and nurturer of your child. We want your teen’s life to be transformed in Christ. The parents of our participants notice many benefits of our conferences for their teens including:
Developing a sense of God in their daily life- Integrating prayer into their daily lives
More positive self-image
Greater sense of direction and purpose
More interest in their faith-life
Forming genuine friendships based on a common love of Christ
Your child will be under the care and guidance of our trained summer staff. This includes our Director of Youth Outreach, the Summer Conferencing Specialist, Chaplain, and a team of Benedictine College students who spend their summer on mission for our Lord. We want you to know that your child is in the best possible hands, and we know it is our duty and privilege to guide your teen as an individual this summer.
Safety and Supervision
Benedictine College’s campus is very safe. We are familiar with hosting teens on our campus through our many faith and sport-based conferences, and strive to make our campus a welcoming, safe community for all of our visitors. Every aspect of the campus in the summers is thought of with the visitor in mind specifically:
Our dorms are single sex. Men aren’t allowed in the women’s dorms and vice versa during the summer months. No one other than our Conferencing Staff, Summer Missionaries, and other authorized members of the college will be in the dorms during your teen’s stay.
Summer Missionaries stay in the residence Halls and serving as resident advisors.
All of our Summer Ministry Staff are Virtus trained and are up to date with the Archdiocese of Kansas City Kansas’ regulations on Safe Environment training for the protection of God’s children program.
Campus Security, Atchison Police, and the Atchison Fire Department all serve the campus community.
FAQs When Considering a Summer Youth Camp
Where can I sign up for a Catholic summer leadership camp for high school students?
BCYC Immersion is a weeklong Catholic youth summer camp that features multiple leadership tracks:
Students in these tracks are taught by field experts, and many of these tracks are taught in Benedictine College’s cutting edge STEM educational facility.
Where can I sign up for a pre-med Catholic summer camp for high school students?
BCYC Immersion offers multiple pre-med tracks in our summer youth camp experience for high school students who are interested in exploring the medical fields:
What are good Catholic high school summer camps for creative arts?
BCYC Immersion offers several creative arts tracks in our summer youth camp program for high school students who are interested in exploring and expressing their creativity:
Where can I find a Catholic high school summer camp for theology, philosophy or Great Books?
BCYC Immersion is a Catholic summer youth camp that offers academic tracks for high school students interested in engaging with the fundamental questions of life and the Faith through theology, philosophy and Great Books.
What are good Catholic architecture summer camps for high school students?
Benedictine College’s Architecture Program offers a two-week Summer Intensive in Classical Architecture. During this focused summer camp, students explore the beauty and history of campus and surrounding sites from an architectural perspective, while living on campus and enjoying camaraderie and shared interests with their fellows.
How can I make summer youth camp more affordable?
Here are some tips for making Catholic summer youth camp more affordable:
Register early: BCYC Immersion offers a $100 Early Bird Discount from November 1 through February 1 when registering for the following summer. Making plans early also allows you to reserve the interest track you want before tracks start filling up!
Apply for a scholarship: BCYC Immersion offers scholarships for financial need, which can significantly reduce the cost of summer camp. If you apply for a scholarship early, you are more likely to be considered. Note that scholarship applications for the summer camps close on May 1.
