Eastern Connecticut State University’s second annual Pre-College Summer, which took place July 14–26, gave local high school students an early, in-depth look at some of the key elements of the college experience.

The program’s events consisted of several courses, taught by Eastern professors, in subjects such as film, creative writing, true crime, pre-med and psychology. Over the course of two separate week-long sessions, Pre-College Summer participants also had the opportunity to live together on campus and partake in a variety of social activities.

“The high school students who attended were a fantastic group,” said Chris Drewry, director of co-curricular academic programming, noting that the 2024 Pre-College group tripled in size from the inaugural program in 2023.

“They were able to connect closely with some of our most engaging full-time faculty members and also make friends and memories that should last for a long time,” he added. “Our faculty and staff worked extremely hard to make sure the students had a wonderful experience. This was truly a campus-wide effort as we received support from just about every department on campus to pull off this program.”

“In the morning, we did breakfast, then class; then after lunch, either class or a workshop,” said Didismay Yedra, a student counselor for Pre-College Summer. “At night, we had around four hours of social programming.”

Nicole Santoro, a graduate intern working on the program, expanded on the workshops and social programming. “During the social programming, we had therapy dogs, tote bag painting, tie dye, movie night, coloring and friendship bracelets,” she said, among other activities.

Santoro continued: “The career workshop was about decision-making, getting to college, resume building, etc. The goal of the program was to encourage the students in things like exploring a major and getting the college experience,” she said. “Some people don't know if they’re college ready or if they want to go to college, so this is the program for them.”

Participants enjoyed their early taste of the college experience. “The food is really good,” said Randi Whitneck, who took Professor Brian Day’s film course and aims to major in a communication, film and theatre-related program.

Shye Rivera, another student in Day’s class, enjoyed the social aspect of Pre-College Summer. “You can meet a lot of people,” she said.

Ky-ani Allgood embraced her early trial of living on campus. “This really set me up for how college would be,” she said. “It’s a lot of responsibility for us. We don’t have our parents here to hold our hands.”

Kiera Brown also learned from living on campus for a week. “Just living here for a bit, you can see what it’s like not being home,” she said.

Several participants appreciated their glimpse of the college experience. “Food is nice, dorms are nice and independence is nice, but I’m coming to college to get a good, quality education,” said Aleck McNeil.

“I like structure, but I don’t like too much structure,” said Dwayne Mitchell. “I found that balance in the classes.”

This summer’s Pre-College Summer course offerings included “Resilience: The Science of Grit and Overcoming,” taught by psychology Professor Thea Vasquez-Obrien; “Creative Writing Studio,” taught by English Professor Daniel Donaghy; “True Crime: An American Obsession,” taught by sociology Professor Racheal Pesta; “Pre-Med Lab: How the Human Body Works,” taught by biology Professor Kurt Lucin; and “Into to Filmmaking,” taught by film Professor Brian Day.

Pre-College Summer organizers would like to thank the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut for assisting with grant-funded scholarships for students from Windham, Norwich, New London and Groton.