Mission

Our Mission: To inspire a life-long love of learning through enrichment programs that stimulate intellectual promise, awaken individual creativity, and foster academic achievement.

The Big Idea

The Lyceum of Monterey County has been offering a multitude of educational opportunities to Monterey County students for almost 60 years. They run annual mock trial competitions, Model United Nations conferences and History Day. These programs offer unique opportunities for participants to do in-depth research throughout the year, and they culminate in a day-long event where students get to showcase what they’ve learned in a conference or competition. The Lyceum has also been running a spelling bee for fourth- and fifth-graders for over 30 years, and are in their seventh year of offering a STEM Conference and Career Fair for Girls called Expanding Your Horizons. There, girls in grades five through 10 participate in hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and math. These programs are instrumental to students and help many find career paths, gaining confidence in fields they may not have previously seen themselves doing. 

Lyceum played a pivotal role for our children, eventually helping them find their career choices. Our daughter and two or three others took to the air with a local pilot who flew them over Monterey Bay—and let them take hold of the controls and fly the plane! When they landed, she announced that she wanted to be a pilot when she grew up. Knowing her personal goal re-energized her academic studies. She studied at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and now works in the aeronautical industry. Our son took a Lyceum class at the home of a local architect, learning the fundamentals of floor plans and CAD. He loved the experience. He prepared architectural drawings and models in high school (receiving encouragement from local professionals), studied at Rhode Island School of Design, and works locally in Carmel Valley as an architect.

- Sharon Dwight