Marist’s highly successful Summer Pre-College program for high school students will now offer commuter programs at the College’s Executive Center in New York City.

March 15, 2019— Summer Pre-College, Marist’s summer offerings aimed at high school students, will have a New York City option this July. Two programs, Cybersecurity and Game Design, will also be held at the College’s new Executive Center in midtown Manhattan.

“This is an excellent way for high school students who wish to commute to take part in the program,” said Jaclyn Fitzgerald, Director of Summer Pre-College.

The Cybersecurity Pre-College program began in 2018 and was such a success that it will be held both as a residential program at Marist’s main campus in Poughkeepsie and in Manhattan this year. Led by Casimer DeCusatis, Assistant Professor of Information Technology and Systems, this dynamic program exposes high school students to a field they would not normally “see” in daily life.

Eye-opening Programs

“Teens may hear about attacks or hear of someone getting their phone hacked, but not really have an understanding of cybersecurity,” said DeCusatis. “This eye-opening program incorporates hands-on learning exercises and labs.” DeCusatis noted that it helps students to see computer science in a different light. The course includes basic programming, networks function, cryptography, and encryption exercises.

Marist’s Game Design Pre-College program began on campus 15 years ago. “Ours was one of the earliest college game design programs for high school students,” explained Ron Coleman, Professor of Computer Science. The high school program has been so successful the expansion into New York City is a natural next step.

“For most teenagers, gaming is their introduction to computing,” said Coleman. “We build on that in this summer program! But here they are not primarily playing games—they are creating. The high-level objective we’re striving for is helping students to be productive through game creation.” Students will use state-of-the-art game-maker software that is both straightforward and yet is expansive and powerful.

Both DeCusatis and Coleman say from an instructional point of view, the Executive Center-based programs will mirror their on-campus counterparts. Students will earn three college credits during the two-week session.

Casimer DeCusatis will direct the Summer Pre-College program in cybersecurity.

State of the Art Equipment, Facility

“These students will be in a beautiful brand new facility with the most up-to-date computer systems and state of the art equipment available,” said DeCusatis.

The New York City program will also include an overnight trip to the Marist campus on the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie. “In many ways this is the best of both worlds: a program for commuters that incorporates a taste of the Marist campus,” said Fitzgerald.

Marist's Summer Pre-College Program was recently included in College Consensus' Top 30 Pre-College Summer Programs for 2019. Students interested in applying can visit the Summer Pre-College website.