(Contact: Epoch 5 Public Relations)
50 Westbury and Hempstead High School Students Experience
Four Weeks of College Life on Hofstra Campus
Westbury, NY – Fifty high schoool students from Westbury and Hempstead today celebrated their completion of Project GRAD Long Island’s Summer Institute at Hofstra University at a ceremony held on Hofstra’s campus. The students’ summer college experience culminated in the presentation of their Public Service Announcements (PSA) focused on the Institute’s theme “STEMulating Sustainability” allowing them to offer their perspectives on improving and sustaining the natural resources in our environment.
The students were joined at the closing ceremony by program educators and supporters: Dr. Herman Berliner, Hofstra University Provost & Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs; Sybil Mimy-Johnson, Executive Director of Project GRAD Long Island; and Professor Bentley Whitfield, Farmingdale State College.
Project GRAD Long Island’s Summer Institute at Hofstra University was supported by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, National Grid Foundation, New York Community Bank Foundation, Farmingdale State College and Hofstra University.
This year’s Institute required four hours of instructional time each day on Hofstra University’s campus focused on environmental studies, biology, and film documentary. During the four-week program, students – all rising 9th and 10th graders from Westbury and Hempstead High Schools – worked in teams with their instructors to create PSAs.
“We are so pleased to see the smiles on our students’ faces as they present their PSA projects that they’ve worked so hard on for the past four weeks. They should be proud of what they’ve accomplished, and for their efforts to prepare themselves for higher education,” said Sybil Mimy Johnson, Executive Director, Project GRAD Long Island. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen the positive effects that our program has on students in their exams and graduation rates. We look forward to seeing great success from these students in the future.”
“The National Grid Foundation is pleased to provide support for the Project GRAD Long Island Summer Institute which introduces students to the college environment—and gives them the confidence that a college degree is an attainable goal,” said Bob Keller, President, National Grid Foundation.
“Bethpage is proud to support Project GRAD Long Island to help students in low income Long Island communities realize the importance of getting a college education,” said Kirk Kordelski, President and CEO, Bethpage Federal Credit Union. “By participating in the summer institute, these 50 students will undoubtedly be more prepared and ready for their successful academic careers.”
Project GRAD Long Island is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide quality education to economically disadvantaged communities so that high school graduation rates increase and students are prepared to enter and succeed in college. The Summer Institutes are a key element of the GRAD program because they allow students to experience a college campus, working with college facility and mentors and utilizing the resources available to them at Hofstra University.
Project GRAD Long Island graduates have earned scholarships to institutions such as Penn State College Park, Long Island University – C.W. Post, NY Institute of Technology, Adelphi University, SUNY Stony Brook and Hofstra University, among others. In Project GRAD’s original cluster of schools, it has increased the number of high school graduates by 94%, raised the number of students going to college by 400%, and generated a college completion rate 70% above the national average. For more information, please visit www.projectgradli.org.