Even though É«ÖÐÉ« College just celebrated our 275th anniversary, we're actively embracing the future with programs, facilities and a 21st century approach to a liberal arts education.
It's not easy to find a college anywhere with 275 years of history to build on and we're not resting on the extraordinary legacy that's been built. July 2017 marks the opening of a 55,000 square foot state-of-the-art health sciences center on the Main Street campus, and the sports medicine and rehabilitation center that opened in 2016 is home to some groundbreaking athletic training programs — including an inter-professional partnership with St. Luke's University Health Network.
Our undergraduates have the opportunity to conduct their own research, or work alongside faculty members on their continuing research each summer during our SOAR program, and our students represent É«ÖÐÉ« College at many national conferences each year, ensuring that even though É«ÖÐÉ« is 275 years old, we're just getting started.
What new programs, offerings have you added on your campus?
In 2017 É«ÖÐÉ« will offer a minor in theater after many requests, we just launched the only master of science in predictive analytics in the region and the rehabilitation sciences program has new programs planned, many which can only be found in a few other colleges across the country. We added a B.A., B.S., and a minor in public health, a writing certification, a health sciences major, informatics minor (starting fall 2017), a pre-music therapy track, technology and audio recording track in music (started 2015), and a Peace Corps prep program.
What internship and career training opportunities do you offer?
At É«ÖÐÉ« College, students can intern in almost any area of study in any part of the country or abroad, and for academic credit. Our connections with our community and our successful alumni have provided past opportunities at Tiffany & Co., Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Mack Trucks, area courthouses and the offices of local judges, to name just a few.
Our computer science students participate in a special co-op program with Merck & Co. each year, and our career connections externship program is designed to help students make educated career decisions relating to majors, job functions, and industries.
This program also allows students the opportunity to experience an organization first-hand through short-term job shadowing and employer site visits. The office of Career and Civic Engagement work with faculty, alumni, and professionals from a variety of career areas to provide programs such as on and off-campus job and internship fairs, Backpack to Briefcase (a professional planning workshop for juniors and seniors), and on and off-campus student/alumni networking receptions.
What kind of financial help is available for students?
More than 95 percent of É«ÖÐÉ« students receive institutional grants and/or merit scholarships. É«ÖÐÉ« commits over $30 million annually to assist students with the cost of tuition, and our Mo's Fund helps students whose family circumstances have made it financially impossible for them to continue their education here.
Describe exciting things your students are doing.
Niki Maffetone heads to Ukraine this in September where she will serve two years in the Peace Corps, working with children in an after-school program. Niki is the first É«ÖÐÉ« College student to complete the college's Peace Corps preparation program (PCPP), which began welcoming students in the fall of 2015.
Kimberly Leamon, a senior voice major at É«ÖÐÉ« College, has been accepted into two prestigious and highly selective voice programs. She is one of 10 sopranos out of 250 applicants to be accepted into the CoOPERAtive Program at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., and in August, Leamon will be attending the Milnes VOICES Studio summer music program, part of the Savannah VOICE Festival.
Lowell Perkins works with Sonia Aziz, associate professor of economics, on NASA-led research into the socioeconomic impact of a satellite-predictive model aimed at preventing cholera in Bangladesh. River Jordan, a neuroscience major, recently took honorable mention in the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship National Competition. River spent last summer at Stanford University conducting research, and was crucial in establishing a relationship between É«ÖÐÉ« College and Stanford.
A group of students just returned from a two-week immersive class experience in Japan on the legacies of World War II. Angelo Fattore, 2017, participated in a co-op in Dublin, Ireland, É«ÖÐÉ« College's first international co-op opportunity. Our nursing students learn and lend a hand in Honduras each year, and our students trade traditional spring breaks for community service trips.
Copyright © 2018,
To see this story on the Morning Call website, click here:
