Rising High School Seniors Experience the Rigors (and Fun) of College Life

Fifty high-achieving high school students have completed a Summer College at Caldwell experience. “Enlightening” is how  students Andrew Sosanya and Roesha Andre described their time at the Aim High Academy on Caldwell University’s campus in July.

The students were selected to attend the rigorous science and math program that has been offered for the past five summers at Caldwell, thanks to the U.S. Department of Education College Access Grant made available through the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. The intensive three-week program was open to excellent rising high school seniors who will be the first generation in their families to attend college.

The program was not for the faint of heart. It involved “late nights and not a lot of sleep,” but was totally worthwhile, said Sosanya, a student at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark.  The other students, faculty and staff made everything easier and motivated the students to want to do the work.  They got “a real taste of professors…fast-paced … no holding hands … they treated us like college students,” said Sosanya.

The students lived in the dormitories and attended lectures and labs with the chance to earn three college credits. They studied biology, chemistry, environmental science, statistics, green reactions, medicine and vectors. College prep workshops focused on topics like financial aid, admissions, conflict resolution and SAT skills. The students were exposed to cutting-edge scientific knowledge tools like robotic surgery, 3D printing design and Google technology.

They went on field trips to the Liberty Science Center, Duke Farms and a Jackals game, where they learned how physics and statistics are used in baseball. Their final projects were presented at a reception attended by community leaders, teachers, and the students’ family members. Research subjects included water resource management, biochemistry and eating disorders, biochemistry medicine and health, and alternative energy and agriculture.

Julaisei Caguana, from St. Vincent Academy in Newark, said the students tutored and tested one another and helped each other with homework. “We all had something we were good at (and) balanced each other out,” she said.

They appreciated the student tutors. The resident life assistants were like their “older siblings,” said Caguana.   One RA taught knitting, another sang for them, some did hair and manicures, while others cooked pancakes for dinner one night. “They tried to make it fun for us,”  said Andre, who attends Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon. “I will miss them,” said Caguana.

Perhaps best of all, they made friends with people who shared their commitment to academics. “We were chosen for how seriously we take our work, and we knew we had to band together to get things done. We bonded and enjoyed each other’s presence,” said Andre.

Brenda Petersen, director of the program, said it was a thrill for the faculty to work with the students, who were among the best and the brightest in New Jersey.  “Our entire SCAC team enjoyed the opportunity to engage with each of these students, seeking to ignite a passion within each of them to search for the answers to address the challenges that face our future generations.”

The students who completed the program were:

Kristen	Cubillos                 Dumont High School
Theresa	D’Errico	North Arlington High School
Ana	Quinones	Passaic County Technical/Vocational
Grecia	Manrique	Ridgefield Memorial High School
Roesha	Andre	Mary Help of Christians
Yuvenca	Georges	Cicely Tyson High School
Jastin	Rana	Clifton High School
Kaitlyn	Lopez	Bloomfield High School
Irma	Morales	Bloomfield High School
Annemarie	Robinson	Saint Vincent Academy
Julaisei	Caguana	Saint Vincent Academy
Paris	Walker	Saint Vincent Academy
Catarina	Neves	Saint Vincent Academy
Andrew	Sosanya	St. Benedict’s Preparatory School
Gloria	Rodriguez	West Caldwell Vocational School
Leslie	Tobar	West Caldwell Vocational School
Martha	Asfeha	Boonton High School
Moboluwape	Adeoti	Hackettstown High School
Jaquelin	Ortega	Somerset County Vo-Tech School
Aspen	Goodman	Rahway High School
Jada	Little	Rahway High School
David	Bellande	Rahway High School
Micaela	Rebelo	Union Catholic Regional High School
Cherelle	McLean	Benedictine Academy
Jyotsana	Thapa	Elizabeth High School
Laila	Olivera	Hillside High School
Vanessa	Espino	Academy for Urban Leadership
Lauren	Petillo	East Brunswick High School
YuQing	Zhou	Highland Park High School
Yuhui	Chen	John P. Stevens High School
Safaya	Mukhtar	Metuchen High School
Jen-Dung	Chang	Hillsborough High School
Tamara	Basantes	Hillsborough High School
Shelsea	Abreu	Immaculate Conception High School, Lodi,NJ
Madison	Chalmers	Holmdel High School
Alexis	Diaz	Freehold Regional High School
Katelin	Dittmar	Toms River East High School
Jasmine	Zhang	Kingsway Regional High School
Sunky	Chang	Memorial High School
Deanna	Tran	Timber Creek High School
Diana Rodas	Serna	Weehawken High School
Alejandro	Marquez	Camden Academy Charter High School
Jaylene	Estevez	New Brunswick Health Services
Davon	Dickson	Kingsway Regional High School
Ediha	Choudhury	Belleville High School
Leja	Agnieszka	Pompton Lakes High School
Rachel	Mercado	High Tech High School
Jessica	Roman	Elizabeth High School
Jennifer	Santos	Science Park High School
Noor	Tahir	Boonton High School