Humanities Academy Students Get Taste of College

“If someone asks, you are a college student.”

That statement might seem obvious to most people attending college. But for a group of Central Regional High School seniors, who spend their days with one foot still in high school, it might not have been so obvious.

The group of 17 students – the inaugural class of the Humanities Academy at Central, a partnership between the high school and Georgian Court University – are still high school students, going to football games, planning for Homecoming, looking ahead to prom and graduation next spring.

But as was pointed out to them on a recent trip to Georgian Court, they are college students as well, with student IDs and courses that challenge them to take a bigger step into the next phase of their lives.

“It’s such a huge step but it’s a great step,” said Catherine Moore, director of career services at Georgian Court, as she addressed the students and pointed out to them that they are, indeed, Georgian Court students as well as high school seniors.

“In high school, you’re used to the teachers posing questions, but in college it’s the reverse,” she said.

She pointed out a number of differences the students already had been experiencing through the three Georgian Court classes they’re enrolled in: Human Geography, Introduction to Psychology and Fundamentals of English Composition.

Other differences have been learning to read the syllabus – the professor’s outline of what the students will learn and what they must to do earn their grades – instead of expecting the professor to give them homework and tell them to do it.

They are differences the students have willingly accepted.

“I wanted something different from the AP courses,” Central senior Alexandria Bleich said, noting that this allows her to get college credits without having to pay for and take the Advanced Placement test in certain courses.

That is one of the biggest benefits of the program, Schools Superintendent Triantafilos Parlapanidies has said about the program, which is funded through money the district receives as part of being a choice school.

Students in the Humanities Academy can earn up to nine college credits per semester, which will allow them and their families to save on tuition down the line.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Bleich, who said she’s thinking about studying criminology and hopes to play softball in college as well.

Mariah Iapicco - a Georgian Court sophomore who addressed the students about life at Georgian Court and who helped lead them on a tour of campus - said the program is a great start for college.

“They’re going to be able to adjust a little quicker to it,” Iapicco said, because they’ve been exposed to the demands of school.

Those adjustments started in August. While the rest of their classmates were getting in a few more beach days or earning a few more dollars for the future, the students in the Humanities Academy started the college classes on Aug. 27, following Georgian Court’s calendar.

Through the program, the Georgian Court professors come to Central and teach the group in a classroom that’s been specially outfitted for the program.

Once Central’s school year began on Sept. 5, the students added high school courses to their daily schedule and workload.

The orientation at Georgian Court included a presentation from Rita Kipp, dean of the college’s school of arts and sciences, who helped set up the Humanities Academy program.

The presentation addressed the university’s policy on plagiarism, which has become increasingly common in the Internet era, and stressed the importance of citing sources of material, whether quoted directly or not.

There also was a presentation from University Provost Evelyn Quinn, who gave a bit of the history of Georgian Court, as well as explaining the primary goal they have for every student they encounter:

“We expect you to become a global citizen,” she said. “We want you to learn the power of your voice and the power of your own choices.”

Four Georgian Court students addressed the group, offering advice to get involved – even if they think there’s nothing that interests them – because, Karen Goff, dean of students noted, more than 70 percent of college learning comes outside the classroom.

Goff said that even if most of the Humanities Academy students pursue their college educations elsewhere after this year, university leaders want them to feel they are a part of the school now.

For some, the orientation program at Georgian Court was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the opportunities that await.

Jason Butow, who has pre-med as his undergraduate goal, picked the brain of Lindsay Taft of Brick, who is in the Georgian Court nursing program but looking to use that program as a stepping stone to pursue medical studies.

“I know now that I could do nursing and get pre-med, too,” Butow said later.

And while Georgian Court remains predominantly a women’s college – it doesn’t open its undergraduate enrollment to men until next year – Butow said that wasn’t something that bothered him.

“We’re all in this together,” he said of the Humanities Academy students, noting they have to work together on various things that come up in their courses.

In the end, the Central students were sent back to Bayville with two messages: to remember that their academics must come first, and to become a part of the college where they are now officially enrolled.

“This is where you begin,” Jennifer Valentine, a Georgian Court senior said, urging them to make the most of the opportunity.

“Don’t worry about how you will find your place,” Goff said. “We will help you find your place.”

"If someone asks, you are college students," Moore said. "If they ask where you go, you can tell them, 'I go to Georgian Court.' "