The office of Community Engagement@Wayne is expanding Get Schooled following the program's successful launch last year. This year's free program begins on July 17, 2011, and is designed to expose underrepresented student populations to higher education and career paths. Through the weeklong program, 60 eighth-and ninth-grade students from metropolitan Detroit will be spending their time at Wayne State University.

"We want to provide students with a real college experience and get them thinking about all the wonderful things they can do with a college education," said Monita Mungo, program manager at Community Engagement@Wayne and creator of Get Schooled. "In addition to exposing them to life on a college campus, we want to get the students thinking about their professional careers and what they need to do now so they can get into college."

On the first day of Get Schooled, students and parents are going to hear from Thomas Parker, principal of Harper Woods Middle School and Harper Woods High School, and Edmund Jones, a current WSU student. Parker will speak about the importance of college access programs and a student's participation in them, as well as the importance of familial support in the pursuit of education. Jones will share the inspirational story of how he came to be a successful theatre student at WSU. During Get Schooled week, students will also hear from a Detroit Free Press photographer, an airline pilot, an emergency room nurse, and other professionals about their education and careers. Wayne State University's office of Career Services also will be working with students to help them identify possible career choices.

Students will get a taste of college life by attending sessions in actual classrooms and lecture halls, learning new study skills, being introduced to the ACT exam, performing a community service activity and spending the week in one of Wayne State's residence halls.

"We hope the experience we provide these young students will help them see the tremendous possibilities that exist when they attend a university like Wayne State," said Jerry Herron, dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College. "We're looking forward to having these students on campus as our guests."

Get Schooled runs July 17-23, 2011, at Wayne State University. For information about future Get Schooled programs, contact Monita Mungo at ah6559@wayne.edu or (313) 577-9216.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.