Happy Campers

Pictured: High school students in the Technology and Engineering Experience ran guided lab experiments in coding, gaming, hacking, 3-D printing, materials science, nanotechnology, and more.

College-bound students interested in pursuing careers in architecture, engineering, healthcare, and medicine recently experienced first-hand what it’s like to study at NYIT.

From July 9 through August 3, 154 high school students attended NYIT Academy, an immersive summer program that leverages NYIT’s academic specialties and faculty expertise and offers unique experiential activities so that participants gain hands-on experience and an understanding of what it is like to work in their field of interest.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to try on a college or a major at NYIT,” said Emily Zyko Rukobo, M.A., executive director of the English Language Institute and Global Academic Programs, who also runs NYIT Academy.

In Exploring Architecture in Manhattan, students received hands-on experiences in studio design exercises and projects.

Six programs were offered on the Long Island (Old Westbury, N.Y.) and New York City (Manhattan) campuses:

• Exploring Architecture in Manhattan
• Graphic Design and 3-D Animation/Game Design
• Health and Medical Academy
• Makers and Fabricators
• New York English Language Experience
• Technology and Engineering Experience

“Students can really get to know the programs they are interested in,” Rukobo said. “And it’s a great way for NYIT to connect with students who are thinking of studying the majors we offer.” Now in its second year, NYIT Academy has connected with hundreds of students, many of whom have followed through on their interest in attending NYIT as undergraduate students.

“It is extremely intensive,” said Clara Ha, adjunct instructor in NYIT School of Architecture and Design and co-coordinator of Exploring Architecture in Manhattan. “At the end of the month-long program, students gained the skills to develop abstract and spatial concepts and learned how to represent those concepts using architectural drawings and models. [They also learned how] to properly document and archive the work into a comprehensive portfolio. This portfolio is extremely useful for applying to architecture schools.”

Students helped clean up Jackie Robinson Park in New York City through the English Language Experience.

In the two-week Health and Medical Academy, students learned patient assessments, nutritional assessment and dietary planning, biomedical engineering and anatomy, and were taught how to take vital signs, start an IV, and make hand splints.

Students interested in engineering spent two weeks learning how to create things with metal, plastic, acrylic, wood, and other materials in the Makers and Fabricators program. One of the biggest projects they worked on is creating their own small-scale metal downhill derby car. To build the car, they learned the necessary skills including set up techniques, band and drill use, belt sanding, grinding, vertical milling, lathe operation, welding, 3-D printing, laser cutting, CAD design, and prototyping.

NYIT Academy also offers a unique program that provides international high school and college students the opportunity to practice their English language skills by participating in service learning activities. Through the New York English Language Experience, these students raised money for the Long Beach Humane Society’s Kitty Cove animal shelter, wrote and performed a play for the JCCA Pleasantville Cottage School, and cleaned up Jackie Robinson Park in New York City, among other activities.

NYIT is also a popular venue among external organizations offering summer camps, mostly for younger students who are interested in technology. Tech R3volution, iD Tech, and Camp Gan Israel held summer camps at the Long Island (Old Westbury, N.Y.) campus.

Students from across the country were also invited to attend NYIT’s Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program from May 30 through August 3. Over 10 weeks, REU fellows, as they are known, conducted hands-on research with an NYIT faculty mentor.

Learn more about NYIT Academy.