Barnard HEOP students start studying early in the hot summer months

New York, NY, July 10, 2002 -Wouldn’t all first-year students enjoy a sneak peak at the tough waves of college before they dive in headfirst in the fall? Barnard’s HEOP summer program does just that. HEOP, Higher Education Opportunities Program, awards scholarships to a diverse population of "economically disadvantaged New York State women who have demonstrated the potential to succeed at a highly competitive institution" states the HEOP annual report. 

Before the fall term, HEOP students attend a summer program that is designed to step up their skills and orient them to the rigmarole of college. Santa Arocho, one of the program organizers explains that the program seeks to "promote the development of a support network among students and their academic staff...the program empowers students to examine their strengths and weaknesses and teaches students that it is all right to ask for help." The HEOP students are known to have a great success rate at Barnard, according the program’s annual report. "I wish that such a program would be offered to all Barnard students," Arocho concludes.

Throughout the summer, the students are introduced to various Barnard college support services from Counseling Services to the Office of Career Development. "The program is supportive of students financially, as well as through counseling," explains Michelle Galvez ‘03, a HEOP student who is serving as a peer counselor this summer. Students take courses over the summer and receive tutorial assistance. Barnard Writing Fellows are employed to help students develop their writing skills in a one-on-one setting. Study groups for math, computer science, and chemistry classes are led by Barnard and Columbia students. 

In addition to typical college classes, the HEOP students take a college skills class based on a book called Becoming a Master Student. The book contains strategies that most college students would benefit from, ranging from time management to note-taking skills. 

This summer, Associate Professor Darren Gobert is teaching a literature class called "Revision: Women and Genre." The course content is designed to acculturate the students to the academic world of literature. "My course is a reverse chronology, an archeology, not a history," he describes. The students begin by reading books written by contemporary women of color, books that many of these students will relate to and will have opinions about. As the course progresses, the students will read more of the classics. 

"Rather than learning [their] critical vocabulary with texts that are intimidating, the students will learn to analyze texts through works that feel more familiar. Otherwise, this population may feel estranged and distant from the classical tradition" says Gobert. The class will end with Hymn to Demeter, which will be the first text read by all First Year English students. 

As the summer progresses the students are forming bonds with each other and their counselors. "We really get to know the students personally. We see how their personal life affects their academics, and we can help them address problems," Arocho says. The HEOP office becomes a unique support network on a personal and academic level that will continue to help the students during their whole Barnard experience. 


Contact: Petra Tuomi, Public Affairs, 212-854-7907
Alieza Salzberg, Public Affairs, 212-854-2037