Dr. Manuel P. Berriozabal, a professor of mathematics at University of Texas at San Antonio, founded Texas Pre-freshman Engineering Program (PREP) in 1979 to identify high achieving middle and high school students with the interest in becoming scientists and engineers and reinforce them in the pursuit of these fields. Since then, PREP has expanded throughout Texas as TexPREP with 16 sites and nationally as PROYECTO ACCESS with eight sites. More than 18,000 students have successfully completed at least one summer of PREP throughout the nation.
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Texas Tech serves as the host for the program and supports the program through the appointment of the director. Dr. Derald Walling (1937 - 1999) was a professor of mathematics at Texas Tech University and was the first director of TexPREP-Lubbock. He served as director from 1986 until 1991. Dr. Benjamin Duran, a statistics professor, served as PREP's second director during 1992 and 1993. Dr. Charles Kellogg, a mathematics professor, served as PREP's third director from 1994 to 1998. Dr. Jo Anne Temple, developmental mathematics coordinator and professor of mathematics and educational psychology, was appointed to be PREP's fourth director in 1999. Dr. Jerry Dwyer was appointed as the program's fifth director in 2004. He is the current director.
TexPREP-Lubbock is an academically-intense, mathematics-based, summer enrichment program. Summer 2008 will be the 22nd year that the program has been conducted at Texas Tech University through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. One of its primary goals is to "lay the foundation to be a successful employee in the work force." PREP recruits students from Lubbock and the school districts in the surrounding 9 counties. The program will run on Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. The dates will be June 2 to July 16, with closing ceremonies July 18.
PREP provides students who have demonstrated mathematical ability (through academic performance, participation in competitions, and teacher/counselor recognition) with the academic and intellectual competencies to succeed in high school level college preparation courses, college programs in mathematics, science and engineering, and jobs in math, science and engineering. It is targeted toward, but not limited to, students who are members of minority groups and/or female (i.e. groups who have traditionally been underrepresented in the professions of math, science and engineering).
In the time that the TexPREP Program has been offered on the Texas Tech University campus, over 1,000 students have successfully completed at least one year of the program. Of this group, about half are females and about half are males. In addition, over half come from ethnic minority groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the engineering, science and mathematics professions.
To provide a creative, challenging, premier program where students develop lifelong learning skills to enhance their individual success.
The Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP) provides a challenging academic program designed to motivate and prepare middle and high school students for success in advanced studies leading to careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields.
To increase the number of
well-prepared pre-college students, particularly women and minorities,
who pursue careers in engineering, mathematics, and science
To acquaint
To reinforce the
mathematics preparation of students
To increase the retention rate of these students in college
To
provide a foundation to be a successful employee
The program enriches normal pre-college instruction by emphasizing college level topics typically not offered in middle school or high school.
The curriculum is designed to strengthen students' ability to solve problems, reason, conjecture and apply mathematical knowledge logically and systematically. It stresses the development of critical thinking, abstract reasoning and systematic analysis. Through an integrated and hands-on approach, it demonstrates the application of mathematics to diverse disciplines such as science, computer science and engineering. Students not only develop their mathematical skills and knowledge, but also learn to reason mathematically and communicate both orally and in writing. In addition, through their experiences of success in a rigorous academic program, they gain a sense of confidence in their own ability and potential. They learn that hard work, perseverance and commitment result in meaningful knowledge and pride in accomplishment. The program provides the students with competitive and marketable skills useful when seeking career opportunities.
Over
the four-year period, students take a series of classes. The program
specifically includes several
academic components: mathematical logic, algebra
topics, pre-calculus, calculus, computer science, physics,
introduction to engineering, graph theory, university readiness,
leadership development, career awareness, robotics, and SAT preparation. Integration of course material is formally built into
the program through special events and projects. These challenge the
students' critical and divergent thinking skills and allow for the innovative
application of mathematical ideas. In addition, PREP provides field trips,
mentoring by college instructors, high school teachers, undergraduate and
graduate students majoring in engineering, mathematics, or science, and
career-oriented guest speakers and motivational speakers who are committed to
workforce readiness. It incorporates technology, hands-on learning, problem
solving, cooperative learning and skill development.
All participants are expected to maintain a 75 average or better throughout the program. Each student earns a final grade that is reported upon request to his or her school. The Texas Education Agency has given permission for individual school districts to approve PREP participation as an elective credit toward high school graduation. At present, the superintendents and school boards at Lubbock I.S.D., Slaton I.S.D., and Frenship I.S.D. have approved this credit for their students who attend PREP. Many PREP students participate in programs throughout the school year conducted by the local chapter of the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering.
Participants in PREP are exposed to many departments on the Texas Tech campus. Students tour the different departments of engineering and the sciences, do projects in several labs, observe demonstrations (such as the Physics Circus), and hear various speakers from the areas of engineering, mathematics, and other sciences. PREP III students participate in a University Readiness and Technical Writing class and are exposed to activities, speakers, and campus tours designed to prepare them to enter college.
Besides visiting departments on campus, the students participate in unique
off-campus field trips. During the summers of 1996-1999, PREP III students
participated
in exclusive and one-of-a-kind tours of Palo Verde Nuclear Power Generating
Plant, located 40 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona; Yucca Mountain Test Site,
located 100 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada; Hoover Dam; and the Grand Canyon.
They also visited the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona.
During the summer of 2000, PREP I students attended the 2nd Annual Engineering and Science Extravaganza in San Antonio, Texas. The Extravaganza was presented by Microsoft and involved a giant science fair, hands-on science experiments, and interactive presentations by Texaco, the CIA, and other corporations. The PREP II and III students took a trip to Austin and San Antonio to visit engineering-based corporations. In Austin, they toured Applied Materials to expose them to the area of industrial engineering. Also in Austin, the students visited National Instruments and were able to listen to speakers in the areas of marketing, software and hardware design, and manufacturing. In San Antonio, the students visited Southwest Research Institute and received tours and demonstrations of research projects that were being conducted.
During the summer of 2001, PREP I students traveled to Dallas/Fort Worth to tour engineering corporations, including Bell Tower Helicopter Textron and Paragon Innovations. They also went to Six Flags. PREP II, III and IV participants attended the 3rd Annual Science Extravaganza in San Antonio. They went to Seaworld of Texas.
The summer of 2002 saw the PREP I students attending the 4th Annual Engineering and Science Extravaganza in San Antonio as well as the Wind Engineering Center and Institute of Environmental and Human Health at the Reese Technology Center in Lubbock. PREP II, III, and IV participated on a trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to visit two engineering-based corporations. They toured Lockheed Martin (aeronautical engineering) and Paragon Innovations. At Paragon Innovations, the students were able to see demonstrations of their current projects, including: SmartStart (anti-drunk-driving device), 3M Wall Display (flat-screen presentation and entertainment system), U.S. LED (alternative sign lighting), and NetBotz (environmental monitoring and security system).
Unfortunately, there were not enough funds for a trip during the 2003 program. :-( Hopefully there will be more funds next year.
For the summer of 2004, the PREP III and IV students traveled to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. While there, they spent the first day at Six Flags over Texas. The second day they toured Paragon Innovations and Zyvex. Paragon had some new projects for us to gaze upon, which include: Laser Tag (fully customizable, realistic sounding and looking-almost- designed to compete with paintball) and Plane Parker (safer way to guide planes to terminals; already being installed in Moscow, Italy, Boston, and Atlanta). From Paragon, the students went to Zyvex - a nano-technology business. While there, the students learned about micro-production and the nano-tech industry.
In 2005 the PREP 3 and 4 students visited McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis. They stayed at the Prude Ranch and had activities such as horseback riding, swimming, and a reptile show. They also visited Fort Davis National Historic site and the Petroleum Museum in Midland.
In 2006 the PREP 3 and 4 students again visited Paragon innovations and Six Flags. The engineers in Paragon spent a whole afternoon with our students explaining and demonstrating their projects.
In 2007 the PREP 3 and 4 students went to McDonald Observatory with a stop at the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Midland on the way. They also attended a star party at the Observatory.
TUITION
TexPREP charges no tuition to attend. The TexPREP staff works hard each year to write proposals for grants to fund the program. This enables students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to attend without any financial barriers. However, students are responsible for their providing their own transportation to and from campus and for bringing or buying their own lunch. We do ask for $10 from each student to pay for their t-shirts, Tech ID cards, and pizza and recreation on the last day. If for some reason you cannot afford the $10 please let our office know.