All-expenses paid summer program available to Greater Harlem youth

Every summer middle and high school students flock to The City College of New York to participate in academic and research programs designed to inspire them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  Their ranks will swell this summer, as CCNY becomes one of 20 institutions nationwide to host the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp.

The Bernard Harris Summer Camp program, July 8 – 20, will give 54 middle school students from the greater Harlem community an all-expenses paid, two-week educational camp experience. Its goal is to develop their engineering and science prowess by engaging them in daily activities that emphasize development of STEM skills.   

Former astronaut Bernard Harris Jr., M.D., the first African-American to walk in space, initiated the program, which is supported by ExxonMobil Foundation. In all, more than 1,000 students nationwide will participate in the program.   

“The Harris Foundation is proud to offer kids a rewarding way to beat the summer brain drain,” said Dr. Harris, who is also founder and president of The Harris Foundation. “We believe providing students with access to fun learning opportunities, inspirational role models and gifted teachers can help encourage them to pursue higher education.”

“We’re extremely delighted to bring the camp here to City College and provide the young people of greater Harlem this excellent opportunity to receive STEM instruction,” said   Sharon Mackey-McGee, executive director of CCNY’s Continuing and Professional Studies program (CPS). “This is a first step in one of CPS’ goals to grow our own students for the College who could become engineers, mathematicians and scientists.”  

CPS was instrumental in bringing the summer camp to CCNY through a grant proposal it submitted. It will run the program in partnership with CUNY CREST Institute, which is based at the College. The CREST Institute is a multidisciplinary center that conducts research and training in remote sensing applications in the earth, atmospheric, environmental and marine sciences.

CREST will engage campers in a restoration project in Jamaica Bay as well as projects at other sites, noted program director Jennifer Robinson. “The theme is restoration of our eco-system. The students will work on group projects suggesting how this can be done and mentors from CREST will assess their work at the end of the camp.”

The summer camp is open to students in grades 5, 6 or 7 from historically underrepresented and underserved schools in community districts 5 and 6 in Manhattan. To apply online and for more information, please visithttp://www.theharrisfoundation.org, www.cps.ccny.edu, or call Ms. Robinson at (212) 650-7312.  The application deadline is April 27.

Other STEM Summer Programs at CCNY   

The Bernard Harris Summer Camp program joins CCNY’s extensive lineup of summer enrichment programs in the STEM for middle school and high school students. Here are brief overviews of the other programs:

• NOAA-CREST Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP). Six-week program that provides research opportunities to students in grades 9-12. Up to ten   students are selected every summer to work with graduate students and CCNY engineering and science faculty members as mentors. For more details and to apply online visit: http://tinyurl.com/CREST-SHIP or call (212) 650-8099.

• NOAA-CREST Weather Camp. Two-week program for high school students from the New York City metropolitan area July 23 – August 3. Up to 12 students will participate in classes at CCNY and fieldwork at the National Weather Service office on the Brookhaven National Laboratories campus on Long Island where they will study weather phenomena and conduct field observations. Visithttp://glasslab.engr.ccny.cuny.edu/u/brianvh/index.html for more information and to apply.  


• STEM Institute at CCNY. A challenging academic enrichment program to prepare and encourage minority students in grades 9 through 11 to pursue careers in engineering, computer science, science, business management, entrepreneurship and mathematics. It runs June 28 to August 4. Call (212) 650-6190 or visit /engineering/stem/ for more information and to apply.

• IUSL Photonics Training Program.  Provides high school students the opportunity to conduct applied research in the frontiers of photonic science and technology. A special focus of the program is to support members of underrepresented minority groups and women to enter these fields. It runs from July 9 to August 24. Call (212) 650-5531, or visit /ci/iusl/student_research for more information.

• Spitzer School of Architecture Summer Career Lab. Five-week pre-college and college level career lab offered June 28 -- July 27 by New York City’s only public school of architecture. The lab gives prospective architectural designers a chance to explore the theory and practice of architecture in lectures, workshops and design studies taught by award-winning and internationally recognized faculty. Visit /prospective/ace/summer_overview for more information about the lab. Visit https://www.ace.ccny.cuny.edu/cersweb/cers.aspx to download a registration form or call (212) 650-7312.