Summer program gives newest Buckeye engineers a successful head start

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Students from the 38th class of PREFACE, a summer-enrichment and engineering exposure experience.
While most recent high school grads are spending their summer off campus, 24 incoming freshmen Ohio State engineering students balanced a full-load of classes, study sessions and homework, while learning their way around one of the largest campuses in the country. 

These intrepid Buckeye engineers make up the 38th class of PREFACE, the College of Engineering’s Pre-Freshman and Cooperative Education Program. The four-week summer-enrichment and engineering-exposure experience helps new first-year students transition smoothly from high school and be successful in the College of Engineering.

“The goal of the bridge program is to get students connected to each other, to allow them to get to know one another and build a cohesive unit,” said Lisa Barclay, associate director of the college’s Minority Engineering Program. “In engineering, collaborative studying is extremely important and the students find out that their number one resource is each other.” 

In addition to creating a sense of community, the program also shows students the pace and rigor of the college curriculum firsthand, introduces them to faculty and teaches them about available support resources.

“It’s about making Ohio State your home before school actually starts,” Barclay explained.

Although PREFACE is open to all new, first-year engineering students at Ohio State, the program specifically targets underrepresented and underserved populations to increase both the diversity of the college and the number of graduating engineers.  

Photo: PREFACE instructor Christopher Porter with group of students in classroom.
PREFACE instructors like Christopher Porter (left), a postdoctoral researcher in physics, teach students learning strategies that can be applied to any new material.
The fast-paced program includes 32 hours of classes each week in chemistry, physics, engineering problem solving and visualization, math, technical communication and professional development, including labs in chemistry, physics and engineering. Plus, boot camp study sessions enable students to practice in-depth learning skills with peers and graduate teaching assistants.

“They’re putting in some pretty heavy study time, so it’s a schedule that reflects the pace and the rigor of what they’re going to get when the school year starts,” said Barclay. 

In addition to introducing concepts that will be explored further during their freshmen year courses, PREFACE instructors teach students strategies that they can apply to learning any new material.

PREFACE participant Nnaemeka Anene, from Dayton, Ohio, said learning responsibility and how to work in groups before the semester officially starts were especially valuable, but what he treasured most was making personal connections.

“I made a lot of friends here, even with upperclassmen and teachers, that I think will continue into the next year and hopefully a long time after that,” Anene said.

Lizbeth Negron Irizarry, who grew up in Puerto-Rico but now calls Dayton home, was relieved to learn about the support resources available at Ohio State.

“When I graduated I thought that I was prepared for college, but then I came here and learned that there’s so much more I need to do,” Negron Irizarry said.

“It helps that now I know a couple of tutors and what buildings to go to for study sessions for specific subjects. I found that to be most helpful for me.”

Photo of PREFACE student and Buckeye engineer in a computer lab.
The program also introduces students to key engineering tools, such as MatLab.
First established in 1977, the program also includes a work experience component that helps high-performing students have an internship, co-op or research experience following their first year in engineering.

For faculty and staff like Lisa Barclay, the most exciting part of being involved in PREFACE is seeing what’s to come for these very committed students. 

“The PREFACE class academically is right on par with the incoming engineering students,” she explained. “It’s an impressive group of students and so I’m excited every year to see what they do once they get here,” Barclay said. 


Written by Candi Clevenger, College of Engineering Communications, clevenger.87@osu.edu     

 

Category: Outreach