The Prairie State College Summer Speech Camp has been helping South Suburban high school students prepare for their competitive speech season since 1998. Each student chooses one event to prepare and polish over the course of the two-week camp. Students work with experienced coach instructors. At PSC, we are proud to maintain a 1:5 coach to student ratio.
At Prairie State, we are proud to work with many area high school coaches, former and current Prairie State College competitors, and successful high school and college competitors to bring quality instruction to our campers.
At Prairie State, we are proud to work with many area high school coaches, former and current Prairie State College competitors, and successful high school and college competitors to bring quality instruction to our campers.
Prepare yourself for the Fall 2026 Competition! Join us this Summer!
July 6 - 16, 2026 (Monday - Thursday)
July 6 - 16, 2026 (Monday - Thursday)
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To reserve your space at this year's camp,
please complete the registration form below. Make Payment
To pay for Camp through our online portal please click below. If you are paying by check please make check payable to Prairie State College Foundation and mail to: Deborah Havighorst Prairie State College Foundation 202 S. Halsted Street Chicago Heights, IL 60411 Previous Summer Speech Events Gallery
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PSC Summer Speech Camp
When
July 6-16, 2026 Monday - Thursday, 1:15 - 5:15 p.m. (Thursdays may run up to 1 hour later) What To Expect
Week 1: Interpretation Finding Material, Cutting Material, Discovering Delivery Advantages Week 2: Public Speaking Generating Ideas and Humor, Citing Sources Instructional Materials
In addition to working on an event for Fall competition, each student will leave camp with a host of supplemental materials including lecture and event handouts. Students are encouraged to share their materials with other students on their teams. Tuition Cost
This year’s cost is $350.00 per student for the two-week camp. Students may opt to attend only Week 1 for $175.00, but may not attend Week 2 only. With either option, the full amount is due by the start date of camp (Monday, July 6, 2026). For schools that enroll 10 or more students, there may be a small discount available to each student from that school. Please contact Dana Trunnell about this discount. In addition, there may be a limited number of partial scholarships available. In order to be considered for a partial scholarship, students must send a letter to the camp directors demonstrating financial need and interest in the speech team. In addition, the student’s coach should send a letter of support to the camp directors. Tom Sweeney Scholarship
The Tom Sweeney Scholarship is named after Tom Sweeney, who was a coach at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. It was Sweeney’s tireless efforts that led to the establishment of the Summer Speech Camp and the scholarship named in his honor was developed to help students who would like to attend camp but may need some financial assistance. The Prairie State College Summer Speech Camp in partnership with the Foundation provides partial tuition scholarships to attend camp for a limited number of students with financial need through the Tom Sweeney Scholarship. In order to be considered for a partial scholarship, students must send a letter to the camp directors demonstrating financial need and interest in the speech team. In addition, the student’s coach should send a letter of support to the camp directors. The Communication Scholarship & Program Fund
The Communication Scholarship & Program Fund supports Communication programming at Prairie State College, including Summer Speech Camp, the PSC Speech Team, and the Tom Sweeney Scholarship. If you would like to contribute to this fund, your donation will be deeply appreciated. You may contact Joshua Green or Dana Trunnell about making a donation, contact the PSC Foundation directly at (708) 709-7961, or click the button below and specify that your contribution is for the Tom Sweeney Scholarship Fund. Your gift may be tax deductible; please consult your tax advisor. Thank you for considering a gift to benefit students as they pursue their interest in public speaking and performance excellence.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
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