UC San Diego’s Scripps
Oceanography to ‘Focus on the
Future’ with High School Students

Compton High School students dive into oceanography and earth science during dynamic three-week summer program

July 12, 2010

By Mario Aguilera
Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of California, San Diego

Twenty students from Compton High School will participate in a hands-on, three-week summer course at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego (www.scripps.ucsd.edu). The program, “Focus on the Future: The Compton – UC San Diego Connection,” is a specially designed set of activities at Scripps for the students presented through UCSD Extension’s Academic Connections Program (www.academicconnections.ucsd.edu).

Academic Connections is a pre-college summer academic and residential experience targeted to highly motivated, high achieving, college-bound high school students in grades 9-12. The goal of the program is to provide students with the opportunity to experience life and learning at a top-ranked research university. The program is being underwritten by Scripps and UC San Diego this year with the hope of pursuing private support in future years.

During the Scripps summer Academic Connections program, the students will study a mix of topics—ranging from oceanography to anthropology to robotics and the evolution of the planet. They also will participate in a specialized program of Scripps activities such as the rare opportunity of spending a day at sea on a science research vessel, visiting Scripps labs, touring Scripps aquariums and collections and learning about vital environmental research topics such as climate change.

Focus on the Future is another program that is part of UC San Diego’s ongoing efforts to increase the diversity of its student body, faculty and staff.

Media Contact:

Mario Aguilera or Shannon Casey
858-534-3624; scrippsnews@ucsd.edu