CONGRESSWOMAN LOIS CAPPS TO KICK OFF “PROYECTO ACCESS” AT OXNARD COLLEGE ON JUNE 30 OFFERING
EIGHT WEEKS OF MATH/SCIENCE INSTRUCTION FOR YOUTH
For the fourth straight year Oxnard College will offer a seven-week enrichment program of math, science and engineering classes for middle and high school students from June 30 to August 15.
On Monday, June 30, the students will be welcomed to Oxnard College by college officials, VCCCD Board of Trustees President Mr. Art Hernandez and U.S. Representative Lois Capps, whose congressional district includes Oxnard.
" ‘Proyecto Access’ is more than a summer camp," said Dr. Steve Hall, Dean of Math-Science-Health at Oxnard College. "It's a program that has a track record of success."
So successful that more than 225 students submitted applications to attend the program this year, almost as many as attended last year’s session when 238 students graduated from the program, according to Dr. Hall and program director Mark Bates, who teaches math full-time at OC.
The students — who are some of the brightest students recommended by their math and science teachers from Oxnard-area schools — will study engineering, logic, algebraic structures and physics using interactive methods to solve problems and test math theories. The program is offered to encourage more girls and minority students to pursue math, science and engineering careers.
Proyecto Access is the national replication of the successful TexPREP (Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program) initiative started in 1979 by Manuel Berriozabal, an award-winning professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio – a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the organization that administered the original $1 million grant awarded by NASA. The initial award supported the innovative project that encouraged thousands of minority students to pursue a college education in the engineering, science, information technology and mathematics fields.
While one of the youngest programs, Oxnard College’s Proyecto Access is one of the largest of the summer programs in existence at HACU member campuses in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and California.
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