Summer program introduces students to Tulane
Assistant administrative professor Ryan McBride (left) works with Posse Scholar Cianjanae Purvis (seated), and College Track students De"Niel Butler and Leyla Aleman. (Photo by Cheryl Gerber)
A group of incoming first-year students is getting an invaluable introduction to campus life through the Tulane Summer Experience program, sponsored by Newcomb-Tulane College.
The students, scholars in College Track and the New Orleans Posse programs, spend five weeks living in campus residence halls, taking college-level English and math courses and meeting with faculty and staff advisers.
De"Niel Butler, a College Track scholar from San Francisco, was a little unsure how he"d feel moving across the country to attend Tulane, but the Tulane Summer Program has made him realize what a great choice he made.
“Everyone at Tulane has been very welcoming, and this is only the beginning,” says Butler. “I"m looking forward to the next four years.”
Andrea Baudy, a Posse Scholar from New Orleans, has been to Tulane"s campus before, but the summer program introduced it to her on a new level. “Actually living here and experiencing the campus from the inside is completely different,” Baudy says. “This program does a good job of exposing you to everything you need on Tulane"s campus.”
The students attend classes and workshops given by Tulane support offices on topics including study abroad, the Honors Program and the Center for Public Service.
On weekends, the group does different activities around New Orleans, including public service.
Both College Track and the Posse Foundation partner with Tulane to enroll students every year from urban communities. College Track works continuously with students from the summer before ninth grade through college graduation.
“My goal for them is to be very grounded in what Tulane is and how it functions.”—Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, program director and associate professor of communication
Posse recruits young leaders from high schools and sends them in teams, or posses, to top U.S. colleges. Donor funding allows Tulane to enhance the on-campus programming provided to these students.
“My goal for them is to be very grounded in what Tulane is and how it functions,” says program director Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, an associate professor in the Department of Communication.
Mary Sparacello is a communications specialist in the Office of Development Communications.
