Director’s Note

The 2002 Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program- El Paso was conducted on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso from June 3 to July 26, 2002. 300 students applied for the program, 260 of which were sent offers of admissions. Of these, 258 started the program. The program participants were high school and middle school students from private schools or the various independent school districts of the El Paso area.

All participants were identified as high achieving students with an interest in learning about the engineering and science professions. The objective of the program included the development of abstract reasoning skills and problem-solving skills. The academic components of the program included: Logic and Its Applications to Mathematics, Algebraic Structures, Introduction to Engineering, Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Physics, Statistics and Probability, Technical Writing, and Problem Solving Seminars.

Engineers, scientists, teachers, and other professionals from private industry and government agencies discussed career opportunities with the program participants.

The program staff included college faculty members, instructors, senior program assistants, and program assistants.

Support for participants of low-income families came from the Upper Rio Grande Workforce. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is in partnership with the Educational Talent Search Program El Paso, the Upper Rio Grande Workforce, and TexPrep. WIA not only provides transportation through Sun Metro Bus system and graphing calculators but also college instruction to the TexPrep students.

Free lunch was also provided to our students thanks to the USDA Summer Food Service Program. This program was provided by a university grant to the Texas Department of Human Services.

On behalf of El Paso Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program, I would like to express my special thanks to our contributors, founders, donors, in-kind benefactors, the University of Texas at El Paso, and school districts for supporting our program. You contributions have served to further the education of future leaders of our community.

Dr. Sally Blake
Director, El Paso Prep