2008 Woodie Awards
URI CELS majors show middle school students around campus
Lindsay Lorenz
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Campus
04/08/08 - This weekend more than 20 middle school students involved in the 4-H Pathways for Success in Science program joined University of Rhode Island students to learn about a day in the life of a college student.
Pathways, a program that encourages interests in science in urban middle school students, came to URI over a year ago as a result of a College of the Environment Life Sciences CARES CE Innovative Grant.
Several URI students who major in science programs volunteer their time each week to plan activities and lessons for the students. The URI students then travel to middle schools in Providence and Pawtucket to teach the middle school students.
The children who participate in Pathways are interested in science and it's the URI students who want to make sure they don't lose that spark.
On Saturday the middle school students came to the Kingston campus to explore what the path to a career in science might entail.
Mentors led the students around campus, answering questions about where college students live, what they eat and if their classes are hard.
While the students marveled over dorm rooms, dining halls and the numerous clubs the university has to offer, the mentors stayed focused on the bigger picture- getting their students into college.
The mentors, many of whom are also minorities and come from urban areas, know firsthand why it's important to have programs like these.
Adepeju Odunlami, a URI senior who grew up in Providence, said she likes that the middle school students can identify with their mentors.
"This is definitely a good program because they look up at us as role models, because we made it," said the biology major. "There's a lot of violence out there, a lot of negative influences and these programs are positive."
Another issue that makes Pathways a necessity is the increasing possibility that students may not be exposed to as much science in their classrooms. In urban areas like Providence and Pawtucket, strict budget cuts have compromised traditional middle school science curriculums, which put students' futures at risk.
Pathways, a program that encourages interests in science in urban middle school students, came to URI over a year ago as a result of a College of the Environment Life Sciences CARES CE Innovative Grant.
Several URI students who major in science programs volunteer their time each week to plan activities and lessons for the students. The URI students then travel to middle schools in Providence and Pawtucket to teach the middle school students.
The children who participate in Pathways are interested in science and it's the URI students who want to make sure they don't lose that spark.
On Saturday the middle school students came to the Kingston campus to explore what the path to a career in science might entail.
Mentors led the students around campus, answering questions about where college students live, what they eat and if their classes are hard.
While the students marveled over dorm rooms, dining halls and the numerous clubs the university has to offer, the mentors stayed focused on the bigger picture- getting their students into college.
The mentors, many of whom are also minorities and come from urban areas, know firsthand why it's important to have programs like these.
Adepeju Odunlami, a URI senior who grew up in Providence, said she likes that the middle school students can identify with their mentors.
"This is definitely a good program because they look up at us as role models, because we made it," said the biology major. "There's a lot of violence out there, a lot of negative influences and these programs are positive."
Another issue that makes Pathways a necessity is the increasing possibility that students may not be exposed to as much science in their classrooms. In urban areas like Providence and Pawtucket, strict budget cuts have compromised traditional middle school science curriculums, which put students' futures at risk.