Mercer County Community College

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1 Mercer County Community College S p e c i a l S u m m e r N e w s l e t t e r p o i n t s o f i n - t e r e s t : Nina Benson Welcome to Upward Bound P.U.M.A. I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e : Artworks 3 Point Pleasant Beach 3 Our Trip to 4 Princeton University The Staff 4 Welcome to Upward Bound My name is Nina. This year I will be attending Trenton Central High School as freshman, which means I m at the bottom of the food chain again. As I enter a new chapter of my life. high school! Knowing that it would be a struggle, I wanted to get ahead of the game. This is where Upward Bound came into the picture. When I heard of Upward Bound from one of my middle school dean s at Paul Robeson Charter School, I immediately became interested in knowing more about the program. I knew it was exactly what I needed to stay on track throughout high school. I applied, and attended every meeting, and joined Upward Bound. I discovered it to be more like a fun version of school. Upward Bound is more like a family than normal school is. I am grateful to be here and feel fortunate to have the opportunity to better myself. The best part of Upward Bound isn t just the socializing or attending classes, but also the lunches they give us every day and the trips they take us on every Friday. We work hard throughout the week and on Friday are rewarded for it. On top of that the program gives us fee waivers for the A u g u s t tests we need to take,the tools and tips to pass them. Also, at the end of the summer session we get a stipend. In addition to the summer session, there is a Academic -Year session. Every Saturday during the school year we come to Upward Bound and take classes to help us with what we re taking in school. If I ever need tutoring, I can just call Upward Bound and come over. Even though it s only been a month I love the place. I am confident that I will do fine in high school because I have backup for whenever I feel I m lacking. Upward Bound is where I am, and Upward Bound is where I want to stay. Tribute to Florence 5 All About P.U.M.A. Aphrael Boltas Wondering what P.U.M.A. dents are chosen to participate stands for, and what it s all in the 3 week program at about? P.U.M.A. stands for Princeton University. The program is all about science and Princeton University Materials Academy. Each summer a handful of Upward around us. During the pro- its effect on us and the world Bound and GEAR UP stugram we listen to lectures, go on STEM related tours, and gain an immeasurable amount of hands on experience working with many different forms of technology and other materials. Continued on Next Page

2 My Experience Each summer at P.U.M.A there is a new theme. I ve been with P.U.M.A. for two summers; my first summer the theme focused on developing sustainable homes. We went on several tours to give us an idea of what it was like to design buildings with sustainability in mind. The tours showed us the effects time and environmental elements can have on buildings.. As we divided into four teams composed of four students, our final project was to design our very own sustainable home, a home that would not cost money to maintain, and may even make money in the long run. This summer the theme was nanotechnology. We did different demonstrations inside the classroom to give us an example of what different nanoscale procedures would be like. We also toured a lab with a microscope that analyzes things on the nanoscale. Our final project was to design a poster about different topics in nanotechnology. P.U.M.A. is definitely an extremely rewarding experience, one I m sure the students who are lucky enough to attend do not soon forget. Below are two interviews; one with a former P.U.M.A. student, and one with a first some more insight on the program. year P.U.M.A. student to provide First I interviewed three year P.U.M.A student Luis Calderon. He attended P.U.M.A in his freshman, sophomore, and junior summer. This year, for his senior summer, he was granted the opportunity to participate in an internship at Princeton University by the director of the P.U.M.A. Dr. Dan Steinberg. A. Nothing. I wouldn t change a thing because I feel that the way P.U.M.A. works is tremendously effective and it s what school systems should work to achieve. Q. What is your favorite thing about P.U.M.A? A. P.U.M.A. offers a unique style of engaging students with variations of hands-onscience and theoretical work. While I have seen this variation done in other education facilities I feel as though P.U.M.A. s way of doing it is the best. The staff have the right attitude, timing and energy to help students develop positive attitudes from the students, which allows them to be so successful. Q. Do you want to attend P.U.M.A. again and why? A. Yes because it s a chance you won t get in the high school, it gave me a chance to explore the university. Q. If you could change one thing about P.U.M.A. what would you change and why? A. Nothing really, I like everything about it, except the food, too many sandwiches. Q. What do you think you gained from your experience at P.U.M.A.? A. I learned a lot of stuff about nanotechnology and how it can help us out in science. Q. What is your advice for new P.U.M.A. students? A. Stay focused, pay attention and try to learn as much as you can, for this experience will reward you greatly. Opportunities like this one are not granted to everybody and one should take full advantage of it. Q. If you could change one thing about P.U.M.A what would it be? Next I interviewed first year P.U.M.A student Jason Deleon. Jason is currently a sophomore, and is hoping to be granted the opportunity to participate in P.U.M.A. again next year during his junior year summer. Q. What was your first experience at P.U.M.A like? A. It was a new experience for me. It taught me a lot of things and gave me a chance to see if I might want to go to Princeton.

3 P a g e 3 Artworks Ashley Betances Artworks is a program offered to Upward Bound students every Wednesday and Thursday, typically lasting from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. Students with an interest in art are selected to participate in the program and are driven from Mercer County Community College to the Artworks building by Upward Bound staff. At Artworks, students take part in activities that include all types of art: from painting and drawing to building things from spare items. There are different teachers each week who help expose the students to new forms of art. Having different teachers every week allows the students to work on many new projects which is good for their portfolios. Last week we had a teacher who specialized in graffiti art. We created ultra violet art using special paint and an ultra violet lamp. Also that week, everyone drew a sketch on a small piece of paper and had the option to redraw their sketch on a larger piece of paper or on a canvas and paint it. This week we are all excited to find out who our new teacher is and what our new project will be. Point Pleasant Beach Barrington Scott At Upward Bound, we went on our first trip to Point Pleasant, a beautiful beach that has an awesome boardwalk and much more! The boardwalk has a small yet outstanding aquarium! The adult admission price is $10.00( which is also the price for teens). The aquarium contains many fish, sharks, seals, penguins, jelly fish, a small octopus, crabs, sea -horses, and so much more! There is also a fancy gift shop at the exit with some very nice souvenirs In addition to the beach, boardwalk, and aquarium, there is also a small carnival nearby that opens at noon! It has very nice rides and games for all ages, including an awesome mini- roller coaster! The staff gave us all coupons for a nice meal at one of the diners and a flip book that contained 12 coupons that were good for any ride! I, like most of the class, enjoyed this trip very much and look forward to going on more of these trips in the future. M e r c e r C o u n t y C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e

4 P a g e 4 Our Trip to Princeton University Nadirah Emanuel A few seniors and juniors from Upward Bound and GEAR UP got a chance to experience a day at Princeton University. The students were all excited to visit one of the top schools in the country. Upon our arrival, we didn t know what to expect. The group attended an information session where a professor talked about campus life such as classes, room and board, extracurricular activities, etc. We arrived a little late, but once seated, the group immediately jumped right into the discussion. We learned so much in so little time. Afterwards the group got The Staff Willie R Hood III Upward Bound is a place where students can get the help they need to thrive in life. I have been involved with Upward Bound since before I could even remember. I have witnessed firsthand the results that this program produces. The people behind this magic are the staff. There have been many occasions where students have been successful, because all the opportunity to go to a college fair held by the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP). There were so many different schools to choose from and the students made sure that they stopped at every table. Overall we had a great time. Upward Bound gave us a chance to visit one of the best colleges in the nation which many inner - city students won t have that opportunity. We are thankful to Upward Bound for giving us a chance to have these memothey needed was that extra push to propel them to riches. Here at Upward Bound one can get as much encouragement as they can stand. The Staff at Upward Bound is always thinking of the individual and collective needs of their students. Every student is different. Everyone has different needs, e.g. life goals, etc. This staff understands that and are devoted to their cause of helping youth. I remember being pulled aside by Mr. Dove and we reminisced about my sisters and other relatives who have gone through this program. Then we talked about my career, how things are in school, and what I am doing to prepare for college. I can recall Mrs. Denton and Mr. Davis hunted me down for my resume. All of the staff is here to help, and are not afraid to tell us the truth whether or not we are doing good or not.

5 The Flo Of Things Who responded in strength To the toils of struggle who chose to use 26 muscles Instead of 62 The prelude to her I Love You Who showed up Showed out And showed us That this life Can be sweet In the midst of rumors That speak of worldly defeat And well done Who unlocked doors Of opportunities Providing further purpose for others To use the windows of their souls Opening our hearts Exposing us all To the very essence Of what it is to hope Florence Massaquoi May 16, 1994 June 11, 2013 MCCC Mercer County Community College James Kerney Campus 102 North Broad Street Trenton, New Jersey Phone: Fax: Ready to Soar? If your looking for help getting into college, if you want extra tutoring, or need to get an extra step ahead in school, then come to Upward Bound! The staff here are devoted to helping students prepare, get into, and stay in college, so head on down to Mercer County Community College and Join Upward Bound.