Features

Second Annual HEROES Academy Brings Enthused High Schoolers to UB

If you were on campus on Friday, Oct. 2, you may have been surprised to see busloads of happy, excited high school students gathered in front of the University of Baltimore Student Center on a blustery morning. Who were they? And why were they so enthused?

They were our "HEROES"—150 sophomores and juniors from three city high schools here to attend UB's second annual HEROES Academy (short for Higher Education Readiness and Orientation for Exceptional Students). They came to UB that day to get a taste of what college life is like and to be hosted by volunteering UB staff, faculty and students, inclusive of the expectations that they must meet in order to succeed in higher education.

The students—90 sophomores from Baltimore City College, Western High School and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and another 60 HEROES Academy veterans returning now as juniors from these same institutions—spent the day on campus in a series of special programs designed to build upon their enthusiasm and love of learning. Some of them are bound for UB, while others are planning to enroll in other institutions. Some, truth be told, are still making up their minds about which college to attend. All of them are interested in what university life is like, and want to know more about the ways that a college degree could transform their lives.

"These students were selected by guidance counselors in their respective schools because they've shown a lot of interest in higher education," said Anita Thomas, vice president for Government and Community Relations and lead organizer of the HEROES Academy. "They are anxious to learn more about college life. We partnered with the schools to give students a unique and realistic perspective of college, without making them feel like UB is the only place for them. It's about letting them know that they're on the right track, their questions are legitimate and that the college experience can be fun and positive no matter where they go to school."

While the HEROES Academy is designed to satisfy student interest in the college experience, it also provided an ideal opportunity for UB staff who had previously expressed a strong desire to do volunteer work with area students.

So, Thomas said, "We offered UB staff an opportunity for an on-campus volunteer activity and a chance to host our visiting students. It turned out to be a perfect match."

This initiative came about as an idea generated by UB staff members who serve on UB's Coordinated Community Outreach Group, a staff-led group that conducts community outreach efforts, introduces the University to new audiences and maintains good relations with campus neighbors, local organizations, area schools and so on.

"The HEROES Academy is UB's way of bringing college dreams to life for very talented, worthy young students who see college as a real part of their futures," Thomas said, "These students set an example for Baltimore's young people."

By its own admission, Baltimore still has too many students dropping out of high school, even though many of them possess the academic talent and social skills to not only graduate, but also move on and succeed at a university. 

"UB is supporting Baltimore's young students who really buck the old trend that existed for far too long in our city for any number of reasons," Thomas said. "As our public schools get better and better, we're beginning to see more sophomores, juniors and seniors who are intent on finishing high school and then pursuing that next degree. I'm happy to say that, through the academy, the UB community has met many high achieving students personally, and they really are exceptional."

There was plenty of evidence of that on Oct. 2, as scores of boys and girls, many wearing school uniforms and looking sharp in ties and matching jackets, were escorted around campus by UB volunteer staff. The 11th graders, all of whom were returning to UB for their second visit as HEROES Academy members, received information focused on the college experience outside of the classroom. They heard about the importance of mentors from UB's own Linda Fair, academic program specialist in the Division of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Forensic Studies, and about finding their career passion from Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessemy, UB Department of Public Safety Capt. Michael J. Cassizzi, and Tony Alleyne, B.S. '06. Students made their own Web cams with guidance from Office of Technology Services staff, and learned about financial aid and admissions from UB's professional staff in those areas.

In the span of half a day, the 10th graders watched and participated in a mock trial performed by UB law students in the School of Law's Venable Baetjer Howard Moot Court Room and led by Professor Byron Warnken, J.D. '77 (see sidebar). They also experienced UB's Simulation and Digital Entertainment Lab with Senior Lecturer Kathleen Austin, and tried their hand as forensic lab technicians in the Forensic Studies Department Lab in the Academic Center with Jami Grant, associate professor and director of the undergraduate program in Forensic Studies. They also created their own marketable products with the instruction of Jim Kucher, director of UB's Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center in the Merrick School of Business. Finally, everyone heard a keynote speech from local celebrity Konan, a deejay with Baltimore's 92Q radio station. In all of the in-class events, staff made an effort to immerse the students in an actual learning environment versus an ordinary campus tour. At the conclusion of the day's events, Miriam King, senior vice president for the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, presented the sophomores with HEROES Academy certificates. The juniors also were offered a chance to be mentored by UB staff.

Throughout the day, more than 100 volunteers representing the UB community made sure that HEROES students were welcomed to campus and received UB's brand of hospitality. In all, the event doubled in size from last year, and the number of volunteers rose to similar heights. Thomas said that campus leaders already are talking about how to host more high schoolers next year.

"The all-around enthusiasm for the HEROES Academy is just amazing," Thomas said. "We will make this experience the best it can be for our HEROES Academy students and UB volunteers. All of us get a charge out of seeing so many excited young people on campus."

Learn more about the HEROES Academy. 

Laughs, But No Mocking, in Mock Trial for High School Students

Imagine being 16 or 17, setting foot on a college campus for perhaps the first time in your life, and you witness this:

A brightly-lit, crowded room, laid out like a court complete with a jury box and a man in the front wearing a black robe and slamming a gavel. College students acting like criminal defendants and lawyers. People shouting and making wild accusations. And a lot of laughs.

Welcome to the world of a law school mock trial, this one held on Oct. 2 for the benefit of not only UB School of Law students, but for the dozens of high school students who were participating in UB's second annual HEROES Academy. The Hon. Byron L. Warnken, J.D. '77 (UB law professor in real life, of course), "presiding," in a bizarre murder case in which the testimony was more dramatic than any network crime show. In keeping with the spirit of the day, a dozen high schoolers were chosen to act as jurors.

Warnken presented the mock trial as a way to show the young students one of the most important parts of what they're in for if they decide to go to law school.

"Maybe in about six years you'll be in my class," he told the audience. "I'll save you a seat."

Behind the tongue-in-cheek trial was a serious message about the criminal justice system and who leads it: law school graduates, every one the product of a legal education, and each of whom with an opportunity to take up the cause of the plaintiff or defendant, or hold the job of court officer or even a judge.

"This is how we attract you high school students to think about law school," Warnken said. "This is the justice system at work."

Working under an exceedingly tight schedule, Warnken and his law students introduced the major parts of the trial, and the dapper judge then selected a pool of jurors from the enthusastic crowd. He even swore them in, which seemed to have the desired effect of encouraging them to focus closely on the proceedings.

And what a case it was: a bloody murder, an extremely unreliable witness, a victim who may have been a cad. In about a half hour, the audience heard a lot that made them laugh, and some that made them wonder who was truthful and who was trying to manipulate the process. One HEROES student even called into question the reason for the trial, when the defendant freely admitted that she killed the victim. Warnken did his best to explain the jury's duty, defining terms like "beyond a reasonable doubt" and discussing the sophisticated nature of the defense. In the end, they found the defendant, "Lizzie," guilty. The young students, along with the Warnken's participants, seemed satisfied by the result.

So, while events in the room seemed random and somewhat out of control, some serious learning was going on just below the surface. It seemed likely that the HEROES students would talk about the trial among themselves for days and days, trying to understand the proceedings and the end result. After all, this wasn't on TV; they were in the room when it happened. Their first exposure to law school? Perhaps. And maybe not their last.