Area Youth Learn About Health and the Environment During New College’s Annual PUSH-SUCCESS Program

June 7, 2012 — Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center will host 21 local middle and high school students during the 11th annual PUSH-SUCCESS program targeted at groups underrepresented in the sciences, June 10-23, 2012. PUSH (Preparing Unique Students for Healthcare) is for students in grades 9-11, and SUCCESS (Students United to Create Culturally and Educationally Successful Situations) is for students in grades 6-8. The program is facilitated by New College Professor of Biology Sandra Gilchrist and New College alumna Stephanie Sherman. 

During the two-week program, students will learn about how their health can be affected by the health of the coastal environment through a variety of hands-on activities and experiments at the Pritzker Marine Center, which houses touch tanks and more than 90 aquariums, anchored by a 12,000-gallon research and display tank. Students will also explore the natural environment during walks along Sarasota Bay on New College’s Bayfront Campus. Some specific activities include:

— Using a video microscope to examine sea urchin development
— Experiments on coral wounding and medicines from wetlands and oceans
— Culturing bacteria and testing water samples
— Building filters for pollutants and exploring the wetlands as a natural filter

The two-week program culminates with a graduation on June 23, 2012, at which students present what they have learned and receive a certificate and stipend for their participation. The high school students also get to sample dorm living with four nights in the campus residence halls. Students from Sarasota and Manatee counties complete an application including an essay and a recommendation from one of their teachers for entrance into the program.

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New College of Florida is a national leader in the arts and sciences and is the State of Florida's designated honors college for the liberal arts. Consistently ranked among the top public liberal arts colleges in America by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review, New College attracts highly motivated, academically talented students from 40 states and 25 foreign countries. A higher proportion of New College students receive Fulbright awards than graduates from virtually all other colleges and universities.