Summer = Learning and Preparing for The Future Through Special Youth Programs at Rutgers-Newark

For young people in Newark, the lazy days of summer have been replaced by training in success survival skills, academic enrichment programs and job opportunities, courtesy of town-gown collaborations  on the Rutgers University campus in Newark. These free outreach programs turn summer months into steps toward for self-development, rather than empty days.
The programs are administered or supported by either the Office of Campus and Community Relations (OCCR) or the Academic Foundations Center (AFC).  They represent just a few of the ways that Rutgers is engaged with the city and its citizens, using its academic resources to serve the public as it has for the past century.

The following are administered by OCCR (973/353-1630);
The Future Business and Computer Institute (sponsored by The Prudential Foundation, in partnership with OCCR {973/353-1630} and the Rutgers-Newark Academic Foundations Center): A two-week program (June 30-July 11) designed to give 13-17-year-olds skills in advanced computer technology.  Topics include email, data graphing, PowerPoint, Excel, using the internet, and web-searching techniques; the program includes tours of local colleges and seminars on financial aid and admissions procedures.

The RU Ready for Work Program (sponsored by the MCJ Foundation, the City of Newark, Newark Public Schools and OCCR): A youth employment program for students at West Side High School and West Side Academy, this is the summer component of a program that offers 9th-graders through 12th-graders special courses throughout the regular academic year in job readiness skills such as public speaking, time management, teamwork, using multimedia and workplace interactions.

During the summer months participants are placed in jobs for 20 hours a week and also participate in seminars on skills such as business etiquette, leadership and entrepreneurship.

Science and Technology Summer Camp on Global Warning and Technology (offered by the Rutgers Center for Information Management, Integration and Connectivity, directed by Dr. Nabil Adam): A two-week (July 7-18) program that will teach students the sciences of global warming and its impacts, the analytical tools to assess data and take actions to mitigate its effects, and the communications skills to present their findings and recommendations. Aimed at Newark-area students in grades 8-12.

Continental Airlines Ambassadors program: Continental Airlines, in collaboration with Rutgers-Newark and other area institutions, places college students in three-month job assignments at Newark Liberty International Airport, where they act as liaisons between the airline and the public. For instance, a student might escort an unaccompanied minor, or assist a passenger who has physical limitations.

The following programs are offered though the AFC at Rutgers-Newark (973/353-3574):
Academic Scholars Institute, a bridge between high school and college for incoming freshmen accepted into the Rutgers-Newark EOF (Educational Opportunity Fund) program for fall 2008. A six-week (June 30-Aug. 8) program that teaches student success skills as well as offering academic enrichment courses; classes include courses in geology and biology, public speaking, learning strategies, test-taking, time management and more.  About 100 students from across the state will participate.

Rutgers Future Scholars Summer Academy, a two-week (July 21- July 31) experience for 50 rising eighth-graders from Newark schools. (Rising eighth-graders will be eight-graders in fall 2008.) The program will use interactive workshops and learning activities, field trips and interactions with Rutgers students, faculty and staff to expose the students to various areas of study and career opportunities.  These include taking part in a mock trial, to introduce students to law; working with a patient simulator (nursing); ¡°drilling¡± for oil (geoscience); and developing an advertising campaign for a New Jersey product (marketing/management).  This is the summer component of a new five-year experiential learning program at all Rutgers campuses, created by President Richard McCormick.  The Rutgers Future Scholars will also participate in fall and spring workshops throughout their four years of high school, and those who successfully complete the program will receive full scholarships to Rutgers.  A welcome reception for the Newark campus program is planned for Saturday, July 19.

Geoscience Scholars Institute, a four-week summer program (July 7, 2008 – July 31) that affords high school students (10th and 11th graders) opportunities to work with Geosciences Graduate Students and Undergraduate Students in inquiry-based geosciences activities begun in the classroom, continued in the field, and ended in the lab.

Pre-College Consortium Q.U.E.S.T. ( Question, Understand, Experience,  Solve and Transform) project is a five-week July 7-Aug. 7)  critical thinking project for 75-100 9th, 10th and 11th graders from Newark schools. It will use technology and visual arts to enhance the learning experience as students undertake projects designed to strengthen skills in reading, writing, public speaking, interviewing techniques and critical thinking. Innovative projects include arming the students with cameras to take pictures around the city, then having them analyze, discuss and speculate about the people and objects in the picture.  Students also will take field trips to expose them to different cultures, such as a visit to an Amish community and a field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian.

Members of the media who would like to see a program in action, as well as speak with participants and those running the program, should contact Carla Capizzi, 973/353-5262, capizzi@rutgers.edu.

Members of the public interested in more information about these programs should contact:
Diane Hill, 973/353-1630, for info about The Future Business and Computer Institute, The RU Ready for Work Program, Science and Technology Summer Camp on Global Warning and Technology, and the Continental Airlines Ambassadors program;
Deborah Walker-McCall, 973/353-3577, for information on the Academic Scholars Institute, the Rutgers Future Scholars Summer Academy, the Geoscience Scholars Institute, and the Pre-College Consortium Q.U.E.S.T. ( Question, Understand, Encounter, Strategize, Transform).