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Thanks to a new initiative that launched at William Paterson University this summer, a group of almost 50 Passaic High School seniors now have professional certifications with which they can gain meaningful employment at age 18. In addition, about 35 sophomores and juniors earned three college credits each to get a head start on their post-high school educations. Both opportunities were designed and implemented through a team effort amongst leaders in the University’s Pre-College Youth Programs, Adult Professional Programs, and Office of Transfer Programs and Special Sessions.
Through a six-week on-campus curriculum, Passaic twelfth-graders took classes with both WP professors and industry veterans to earn certification in either entrepreneurship, forensics, digital graphics, or phlebotomy.
“This certification is a wonderful supplement to the students’ future college educations,” says Iris DiMaio, associate director of WP’s School of Continuing and Professional Education, which administers the Pre-College Youth and Adult Professional Programs. “We know that most students have to work while they attend and prepare for college; that’s the reality. Isn’t it better for them to work in their chosen field at a professional level, gaining valuable industry experience and higher wages, than to work in a shopping mall or fast food restaurant?”
Sandra, an incoming senior at Passaic High School who dreams of becoming a cardiologist, earned her professional certification in phlebotomy. She says she was very nervous about learning how to draw blood by practicing on classmates, but she’s immensely happy she faced that fear, learned real-life career skills, and built her overall personal confidence in the process. “It was totally worth it; this was such an amazing program with an amazing instructor,” she says, during a certificate ceremony on campus, with her family members in attendance. “Thanks to this program, today I became a phlebotomist.”
Sandra’s high school classmates in the forensics path learned about crime scene investigation, and how to analyze and collect evidence, while also receiving hands-on training from members of the William Paterson University Police Department.
While WP’s officers lent a hand in one certification class, its alumni helped in another – the entrepreneurship class. Brothers Carlos D. Lopez ’11 and Carlos M. Lopez ‘09, the respective chief operating officer and chief executive officer of Tropical Juice Bar – which has numerous locations in northern New Jersey and is quickly expanding – served as judges in the class’s take on “Shark Tank.” Students had to individually present their business plans to the brothers, who are also Passaic High School alums, with the winning student earning a one-year administrative internship with Tropical Juice Bar.
“Through this program, we’re helping high school students in our community become active, successful citizens,” DiMaio says, lauding the forward-thinking approach of the Passaic Public School board and administration, which, starting this fall, is pushing every student in the district to graduate with a career certification and/or a minimum of 15 college credits.
Though offering professional certifications to Passaic High School students is new at WP, the University has been working with the district for the past decade, offering for-credit summer classes to its qualified students. That program continues, and this year, participating sophomores and juniors had a choice of three classes taught by WP professors: sociology, nutrition, or women’s and gender studies.
The cost of tuition, books, transportation, and a chaperone for both the certification and for-credit programs was covered in full by the Passaic School District.
