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dateline:UVI The monthly newsletter of The University of the Virgin Islands It’s summer on UVI’s St. Croix campus. Classes have ended, the grades have been submitted and UVI students – who weeks ago were everywhere – are gone. Brightly col- ored clothing hangs drying on a clothesline in the midday sun. A group of young women, participants in a clothing con- struction workshop as part of the UVI Cooperative Exten- sion Service’s 4H summer camp, have just learned the art of tie-dye and batik. Clothing construction is just one of the skills offered as part of St. Croix 4H camp. Using national 4H camp guidelines, the St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John camps each offer separate areas of interest such as culture, ag- riculture and a “mini-soci- ety” that teaches entrepre- neurship. During the six- week camp, each mini-soci- ety sets up its own govern- ment, currency and exchange rate. On St. Croix, 152 children between the ages of 5 and 14 participated in five 4H camps at two different locations – the UVI St. Croix campus and the Alexander Henderson Elemen- tary School. Kofi Boateng, assistant director of the UVI Co- operative Extension Service on St. Croix, is coordinator of the St. Croix 4H camps. UVI music professor Austin Venzen is coordinator of the St. Thomas/St. John 4H camps, which offer day-long activi- ties for 77 campers on St. Thomas and 66 campers on St. John. In addition to 4H camps, UVI has maintained an active summer program schedule that includes the Summer Science Enrichment Academies, the Family Life Center Summer En- richment Program, Reichhold Center Youth Moviemaking Workshop and the Upward Bound summer program. The Summer Science Enrichment Academies (SSEA) have been taking place at UVI for 11 years. This summer, 20 jun- ior high school students from St. Croix and 45 high school students from St. Thomas lived and studied on UVI’s cam- puses as part of the program. Made possible by grants from the National Science Foun- dation (NSF) and the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), the Summer Science Enrichment Academies offer free enrichment activities in science and mathematics over a period of five weeks. As part of the program, students are in- structed in biology, math, chem- istry, physics and learning strat- egies. SSEA students took field trips to the Cyril E. King Airport control tower, the St. Thomas weather station, the Roy L. Schneider Hospital and the Etelman Observatory, and were exposed to working scientists and physicians through a series of lec- tures and panels. Upward Bound had 55 stu- dents from St. Thomas and St. Croix attending classes and liv- ing in the UVI residence halls on the St. Thomas campus. In addi- tion to academic pursuits, the 55 Upward Bounders took a St. Thomas island tour, trips to Coral World, Cinnamon Bay Campground on St. John, the movies, bowling and enjoyed weekly sports nights. Kari Hodge, a 17 year-old senior at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, says she’s been challenged by the curriculum of Upward Bound’s summer program. “During the academic year we’re given assignments but during the summer, the as- signments include more difficult projects and essays.” Hodge says access to the Sports and Fitness Center and the Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library, as well as the friendships she’s en- joyed during the summer program, are bonuses. “I have made a whole lot of friends, especially the people from St. Croix,” Hodge said. Twenty-seven at-risk youth from the Kirwan Terrace Hous- ing Community and the New Horizons Alternative School took part in the UVI Family Life Center’s free summer en- richment program on the St. Thomas campus. Through ca- reer, academic, personal, recreational and cultural develop- ment workshops, each child was challenged to view them- July 31, 2001 vol. vii, number 6 Summer Youth Programs Flourish at UVI Continued next page . . . (Left to right) Annalee Peru, Aziree Pemberton, K’yana Robles, Kerish Robles, Chaquan Thomas and Jamia Battiste operate a nail salon as part of the Cooperative Extension Service’s 4H Camp on the St. Thomas campus. selves and their com- munity differently. Museum trips, lec- tures, drama classes, tennis lessons and a trip to the St. Thomas jail brought variety to the Family Life Center’s summer en- richment experience. Five teenagers par- ticipated in the first Reichhold Center Youth Moviemaking Workshop, where they learned advanced digital video production and editing techniques. David Edgecombe, director of the Reichhold Center for the Arts, said the culmination of the program will include the screening of a 10-minute dramatic film produced by the workshop’s participants. “It’s fantastic to see the work they have done.” dateline:UVI 2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, VI 00802 GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . .. www.uvi.edu The Virgin Islands University Affiliated Program (VIUAP) has received a grant of $347,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which will enable the pro- gram to continue its work with people with disabilities and their families.The mission of VIUAP is to enhance the lives of disabled consumers and their families by working with the community, higher educational institutions and public schools to raise awareness about the special challenges and potential of people with disabilities. “Disabled consumers are the ones behind the operation of VIUAP,” said Dr. Yegin Habtes, executive director of VIUAP and an education professor at UVI. An advisory council made up of disabled consumers oversees VIUAP’s interdiscipli- nary training workshops, certificate programs, community out- reach and technical assistance programs. VIUAP disseminates information to the public by way of two publications – the semi-annual magazine Harambee and the monthly newsletter Tech Connect – and operates assistive technology resource centers on St. Thomas and St. Croix. VIUAP Receives $347,000 Youth Moviemaking Workshop partici- pants Favinn Maynard, foreground, and Rachel Navarro edit film projects with coordinator Denise Humphrey. Students who attended science classes at UVI this sum- mer conducted research that professors say should make them very competitive and prepared in the years to come. Dr. Richard Hall, a professor of biology on UVI’s St. Tho- mas campus, says it’s a goal of the Science and Mathematics Division to increase students’ participation in research projects at every stage of their college careers. This summer, students who attended biology and general science classes examined core samples of termite nests, con- ducted a two-week study of population genetics and partici- pated in metabolic rate and oxygen consumption studies. Dr. Paul Jobsis taught general biology during the summer session. “The projects have involved students out in the field and it’s always good to get them outside taking measurements in the field rather than in a classroom,” he said. Jobsis, Hall and other Science and Mathematics Division faculty, have instituted changes to the science curriculum that have increased the number of laboratory research experiments, at every course level. UVI’s Science and Mathematics Divi- sion hopes to garner public support and awareness of the high quality, advanced scientific preparation that exists at UVI as well as increase the opportunities for UVI students to attend national scientific meetings. The scientific research opportunities that exist at UVI are the result of a number of grant initiatives that have been put in place over the last several years. The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program, begun at UVI under the direction of Dr. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, the National Insti- tutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Research Support RISE Program and the National Science Foundation HBCU - Un- dergraduate Program have all made advanced undergraduate research at UVI possible. UVI Students Conduct Advanced Summer Research Youth Programs . . .cont’d.