TCNJ Pre-College Program 2017

On Saturday, the whole group had the pleasure of visiting Grounds for Sculpture, a 42-acre sculpture park and museum located just 15 minutes away from the TCNJ campus! The students enjoyed having time to wander the gardens, explore interactive art pieces, and relax before they buckled down for study hall. In the evening, we had our annual pre-college talent show, where we saw everything from beautiful paintings and drawings, singing, dancing, rapping, magic, short-story readings, to stand-up comedy! On Sunday, students started out their day with a campus-wide scavenger hunt - our way to get them acclimated to campus while still having fun and interacting with friends! The winning team won gift cards to Red Berry Frozen Yogurt in Campus Town - yum! After that, we held a morning study hall, followed by a panel session from local community members on community engagement. The students were able to ask our guests questions about their course work, community service, and personal career g...

On Thursday morning, students continued service at both the Academic Sports Academy and the Food Bank. Directly after service, all students went on a tour at the New Jersey State House, where we had the privilege of meeting with Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who spoke with our students about local and state government and the issues he works on related to Trenton. Students from Sociology and History had class with professors Bates and McGreevey in a committee room in the State House, while Political Science students met with Madeline Urbish, the Project Director for the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed at the NJ Audubon. After we returned to campus and ate dinner, students enjoyed a night of activities and movies, as well as some optional study hall time with a little less stress as we approached the weekend! On Friday, the History and Sociology students hopped on a school bus with us to travel to historic Philadelphia. Although the rain changed our outdoor plans a bit, it ...

Tuesday began with service at MLK again for History and Sociology.  The students divided themselves by classroom to support a certain age group at ASA.  For Political Science, the students visited the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank where they helped sort and organize. From service,  all students boarded a school bus with professors Bates and McGreevey and embarked on an informational tour of Trenton.  The group visited several historic sites throughout the city, taking the place of class for the day.  The students even had lunch with the professors at an Italian/Ecuadorian restaurant in Trenton! In the evening, the group engaged in more reflection, watched another documentary, and then went right into study hall! Wednesday both groups went to service as usual: the summer camp and the campus garden. For class, the Political Science class had two exciting guest speakers: Lauren Skowronski of Sustainable Jersey, and Diane Bates - the author of their pre-readin...

The first day of the program, the students moved into their dorm rooms, met their roommates and then spent the rest of the day getting to know each other as a group! We did icebreakers, had dinner in the dining hall and then did even more icebreakers! We reviewed the schedule, expectations and rules and got an early start on our homework in study hall! Great first day with the group! On the second day,  the students who are enrolled in History and Sociology began service at Martin Luther King elementary school with the Academic Sports Academy.  The program focuses on academic engagement for K-8th grade students of the Trenton public school system.  The students who are enrolled in Political Science served at the TCNJ campus garden, a garden that provides hundreds of pounds of fresh produce to the Mercer County Food Bank each summer, and at Meals on Wheels. From there, all students had a lunch break in the dining hall and headed to their first classes with our Pre-C...