Summer Discovery

History

The Musiker family’s dedication to teenagers and education began 50 years ago when Mike and Judy Musiker founded Musiker Student Tours in 1966. Their sons, Bob and Jimmy Musiker, joined the organization in the early 1980s and assumed ownership in 1992. That year, the organization changed names from Musiker Student Tours, Inc. to Musiker Discovery Programs, Inc. to reflect the broad offerings available to students that now include pre-college enrichment, business internships, middle school enrichment, college admissions preparation and community service programs.

The first Summer Discovery program began at UCLA in 1986, with locations and program offerings expanding tremendously since then. In 2009, Summer Discovery formed an exciting partnership with Derek Jeter’s organization, Jeter's Leaders. The joint venture awards Jeter's Leaders scholarships to attend Summer Discovery programs at leading colleges and universities in the U.S.

In 2010, Discovery Internships was created when Musiker Discovery Programs partnered with Dream Careers (internship programs for college students), to acquire Career Explorations (internship programs for high school students) and form Discovery Internships LLC.

Today, there are 11 Summer Discovery pre-college programs, 4 Discovery Internships programs, 2 Jr. Discovery middle school programs and 1 College Discovery Experience program in 7 states and 4 countries.

Musiker Discovery Programs are directed by Bob and Jimmy Musiker, Director of Operations Wil Burns-Garcia, Office Manager Mary Floratos and a bright, energetic full-time staff of 20 associates in the New York headquarters. The company operates year-round to ensure the best possible summer experiences for staff and students from around the world.

Student Tours

Musiker Discovery Programs has been a growth business since its founding in 1966, when Judy and Mike Musiker sold Camp Keewanee in Parksville, NY and ran their first of many Musiker Student Tours. From the introduction of the ‘Discover America’ tour in 1967, the start of the European program in 1969, the beginning of the camping program in 1983, the introduction of the ‘Alaskan Hawaii’ program in 1986, and continued introduction of new tours, Musiker Tours has been the innovator in active student tours.

In the fall of 2008, Musiker Discovery Programs ceased offering student tours in favor of focusing their concentration on providing the best academic enrichment and internship programs.

Academic Programs

Summer Discovery Educational Programs began in 1986 on the campus of UCLA. Originally reserving space for 80 students, the program operated with 180 students from all over the world and the future prospects of educational programs in the summer on college campuses was bright. Two years later Summer Discovery at Cambridge University in England was introduced and since 1989, the campuses of the University of Michigan, Georgetown University, University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Pennsylvania, Istituto Lorenzo de’Medici in Italy, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have joined the Summer Discovery Team.

In recent years the roster of programs offered by Musiker Discovery Programs has increased with the introduction of Jr. Discovery middle school enrichment programs at UCLA and Georgetown and College Discovery college admissions program in Boston. This year, 5 Business Institutes were added to the program offerings in London, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Boston and Michigan. Two years ago Musiker Discovery Programs announced the addition of the Discovery Internships programs in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and London.

This past summer, Musiker Discovery Programs had participants from 43 states and 55 countries and is recognized as a leading company in the industry with more students choosing Summer Discovery each summer than any other program of its kind.

Summer Discovery

Summer Discovery offers 2 – 6 week pre-college enrichment programs for high school students, affording them the opportunity to embark on a real college experience, just like a college student. Summer Discovery is designed to introduce students to the collegiate atmosphere whilst providing them with a safe and comfortable environment within which they can build their independence and confidence. Students live in a university residence hall while taking courses taught by university professors. The programs provide access to over 300 courses in environments that are intellectually stimulating, culturally and socially enriching, and fun.

Discovery Internships

Discovery Internships is a tuition-based, all-inclusive 4 week customized internship program for high school students. Discovery Interns live in residence halls with other students from around the world while exploring a career of interest through an internship. The goal of Discovery Internships is to help motivated high school students stand out in the college admission process, gain valuable work experience and make more informed decisions about their college and career plans.

College Discovery

The Princeton Review College Discovery Experience is designed to help students choose the college that is best suited for them. During the intensive 2 week summer program, students will develop their knowledge of various schools through campus visits and tours run by the school’s admissions office, improve their SAT scores through the Princeton Review SAT Preparation course, and create a personal college admissions profile which includes an application essay.

DiscoveryWorks

DiscoveryWorks is a community service program that runs in collaboration with Summer Discovery. It provides students with the opportunity to give back to the community by helping others while living in a university residence hall with other like-minded high school students. Certificates of completion listing hours served are awarded upon completion of the program. Past students have worked with underprivileged kids, restored the environment, cared for the elderly, volunteered in health services and so much more.

Jr. Discovery

Jr. Discovery is a 3-week summer enrichment experience for middle school students completing grades 6, 7 and 8. Jr. Discovery is designed to facilitate a positive transition from adolescence to young adulthood, and from middle school to high school. The ‘Skills for Mind and Body’ curriculum aims to inspire independent thinking, creativity, personal growth, self-confidence, time management and life skills.