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Syracuse University partnered with the Syracuse City School District to provide scholarships for up to 36 high school students in the city to attend SU’s pre-college summer program. 

The National Electrical Contractors Association and IBEW Local 43, a labor union in central New York, are sponsoring the scholarship through the SCSD partnership.

Rising high school juniors receive the scholarship to take one non-credit course at SU over the summer, said Christopher Cofer, executive director of the Office of Pre-College Programs.  Guidance counselors at high schools nominate students who they feel would gain the most from the program. The students then apply and go through an admissions process similar to that of applying to college, he said.

“By design, the application is similar, as reasonably as possible to the undergraduate application for admission because one of the goals of summer college is a college-like experience as much as we can reasonably replicate,” Cofer said. “And that begins with the application.”

Maggie Stephens, an incoming SU freshman who participated in the musical theater pre-college program during the summer of 2020, said the program was valuable even as an online experience. 

Though the program was still engaging last summer, Cofer said that the virtual setting made it difficult for students with limited internet access to participate. The opportunity is an important way for SU to connect with and support local students, he said. 

Due to pandemic-related restrictions, Stephens would learn dances on her own time, then record videos of the dances and send them to SU faculty for personalized feedback. 

The program will be entirely virtual for summer 2021, with three- and six-week long options available. Rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors as well as recent high school graduates are eligible to apply for the program.

“It’s important to me that I do everything I can through my role at the university to support the relationship, to be a positive influence for the students, our community,” Cofer said.

IBEW Local 43 learned about the scholarship through the Syracuse City School District, said Alan Marzullo, business manager and financial secretary of the union. The union is always looking for ways to help the local community, he said.

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A photo posted by suprecollege

“It’s going to expose those young people to real college classes and introduce them to those opportunities, to give them a greater likelihood of success beyond high school,” Marzullo said. “That’s really what we’re about. We’re about lifting up those in our community that might not necessarily get the chance to go to college.”

Stephens applied to the summer program to see what a college level musical theater program would entail. SU was one of her dream schools, and she wanted to meet faculty and other students with similar interests, she said.

“Now that I’m accepted (to SU), I feel summer college really prepared for the transition from high school student to college student,” Stephens said.

Published on May 9, 2021 at 9:10 pm

Contact Kailey: kmnorusi@syr.edu