More Than 300 Gifted Students Bring Big Talent, Creativity to Roger Williams University This Summer

BRISTOL, RI (06/25/2011)(readMedia)-- In the spirit of innovation and learning, Roger Williams University will welcome more than 300 students to campus beginning Sunday, June 26, as part of the Academic Explorations summer program presented by The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. As one of several university sites across the country, Roger Williams University has hosted the prestigious academic program on its campus for 10 years.

Based at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., the Center for Talented Youth works with students, families, teachers, government agencies and more to identify and nurture academic talent at the pre-collegiate level. To date, CTY has served more than 100,000 students through its programs, which offer residential and day summer courses to youth grades 2 to12 across the globe. Before acceptance, participants must first meet the qualifying scores on the SAT and ACT exams or on the organization's Spatial Test Battery. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and Time magazine Person of the Year; Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google; and pop musician Lady Gaga are among CTY's most notable alumni.

Distinct for its rigorous, academic-centered curriculum, the CTY summer program will offer participants the chance to explore the sciences, humanities, writing, math and computer science – all on the RWU campus. Courses are offered Monday to Friday and feature topics from etymology and astronomy to nuclear science and biotechnology.

RWU graduate Will Capozzoli '10 has worked as both a biotech teaching assistant and resident assistant with CTY for the last three years. He says the summer program is an important step in helping students identify and embrace their skills at an early age.

"The Johns Hopkins program not only exposes schoolchildren to the University environment, but also inspires participants to discover their talents," Capozzoli says. "I was in awe at how dedicated each of the students was to education and at how easily they were able to transform themselves as individuals in just a few weeks."

The first group of 150 students will arrive on the RWU campus for a three-week session on June 26. A second session of 150 students will follow on July 17. Some 70 faculty experts and a host of residential staff members – each hired through The Johns Hopkins University – will provide guidance and instruction throughout their stay.

More information on the Center for Talented Youth can be found at: www.cty.jhu.edu.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 41 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. In the last decade, the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes and continues to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top ten educational institutions in its class.