Before last Friday, 13-year-old Cathy He knew little about college life. But by the time she boarded the 3:30 p.m. Dinky back to New York, she had taken an Orange Key tour of the Princeton campus, had been photographed on the steps of historic Nassau Hall and was toting an orange and black megaphone with which she was now displaying her Tiger pride.
"I really want to go to college now!" she exclaimed with genuine excitement more befitting a Princeton pre-frosh than a middle schooler headed to Trinity High School in Manhattan in the fall.
He is part of a group of 22 eighth graders who visited the University as a reward for their hard work this year as participants in the TEAK fellowship — a New York City-based, nonprofit program that helps gifted students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds enter and succeed at top high schools.
Even though He will not send her Princeton application to Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon's office for four years, she and the other TEAK fellows frequently find themselves in Princeton company.
Princeton students and alumni are an integral part of the program, serving as summer interns, year-long fellows, student mentors, financial contributors and even board members, according to Justine Stamen, TEAK Founder and Executive Director.
Stamen named the program for her friend Teak Dyer, who was murdered in Los Angeles in 1988 at the age of 18.
"Princeton has been pretty unbelievable to me," she said. "It's a Princeton crowd."
Indeed, Melissa Wu '99, who joined the TEAK staff this year as a fellow through Project 55, is one of the program's biggest fans.
"I believe education is extremely important to individuals," Wu said. "[The TEAK fellows] are extremely bright, motivated and talented. They are really going to excel with the kinds of opportunities they will have."
Participants begin the program in the summer after seventh grade and continue through their years in high school. During this time, they are assigned a mentor and participate in tutoring, SAT preparation, arts programs, community service and summer internships.
The ultimate expectation is that the fellows will benefit from the individualized help and guidance they receive at TEAK, allowing them to succeed in high school, to continue on to earn college degrees and to serve as mentors for future TEAK fellows.
William Wong '02, a TEAK intern this past summer through the Class of '69 Community Service Fund, reiterated the objectives of the program. "[TEAK] opens up different roads that [the fellows] can take that they would've never seen," he said. "It surrounds them with hope and a passion for what they can do in the future for themselves and for other people."
Wong, a civil engineering major, will intern with TEAK again this summer. Though he will most likely pursue a career in engineering, he said he foresees himself being involved in TEAK for many years to come. "I know I'm going to be affiliated some how, some way," he said. "Probably until I die," he added with a smile.
The TEAK fellows — nicknamed "the pioneers" since they are the first group of students to participate in the program — share Wong's enthusiasm about the program.
"It's a lot of fun and not only academics," said participant Dyese Taylor, adding that the friendships she has made have been the best part of her experience at TEAK. "It's like a perfect school."
Rashidah Green, who will attend Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., in the fall, echoed Taylor's sentiments.
"If I could say one thing to TEAK, it would be thank you so very much for everything," she said. "For helping me get into a good high school, make great friends, see great things . . . just for supporting me through the whole thing."
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