April 12, 2018 — As a high school junior Eddie Whitman’s dream was to study sports communications. But dreams and reality are two different things so he jumped at the opportunity to attend Marist’s Pre-College Program the summer before his senior year in high school.

“I knew being on campus and taking classes in my area of interest would be a good way for me to solidify the schools I was applying to,” he explained.

Marist was at the top of Whitman’s list of colleges and the experience was a success in every way. Whitman ’20 did come to Marist and plans to declare his major in sports communications this semester. He credits the Pre-College experience with putting it all into sharp focus.

Pre-College is a two-week summer intensive Marist offers to high school students. Students who enroll in the Pre-College Program choose an area of focus from a wide variety of options—most of which are not typically available in high school. Some choices include: criminal justice, cybersecurity, environmental science, and game design. A full list can be found here.

For Whitman the Pre-College experience at Marist was his first extended time on a campus. “It was terrific middle ground for me—a nice step between high school and college,” he recalled. “We had supervision at Pre-College but definitely more freedom and responsibility than in high school.”

The major differences? “I had to get organized about my work and be on top of time management. In high school, teachers are constantly reminding you about what needs to be done and when. The first few days in class were really challenging, but I loved it. At the end of the two weeks, I didn’t want to leave.”

Whitman happily rattles off the key experiences he had in just two weeks: writing a press release about the incoming freshman basketball players that year; a trip to Madison Square Garden and the office of Major League Baseball and the National Football League; getting to be in the control room at the McCann Center, and hands-on learning about television and radio production. “Going to Pre-College showed me how many connections the Marist Sports Communications Department had in the sports world,” he said.

He also made friends from all over the United States. In fact, he and two Pre-College pals from Texas, made great use of their new-found technological skills during their senior year in high school by producing a podcast, “The Island of Sports Information.”

“It was a talk show,” said Whitman. “We would go over current events from the world of sports news. We ran every Sunday.”

Now as a student a Marist, Whitman is just as active. He works as Head Student Manager to the men’s basketball team coaches, does play-by-play calling of the women's basketball home games for the radio club, and is an active member of Marist College Television (MCTV).

“It’s awesome here,” Whitman enthused. “And Pre-College was my first taste of that. Everyone at Marist wants to help you learn. The experience definitely helped me to be better prepared for college and gave me a strong sense of what college would be like. I’m so glad I did it.”