Three days at McMaster to show prospective students the pathway to university

Sixty Grade 7 pupils were at McMaster this week for three days of campus
life, in a pilot project designed to show them university is well within their reach.

The pupils came by city bus from Cathy Wever School on Wentworth Street North in
central Hamilton.

While on campus, the visitors stayed in a student residence, ate at student dining
facilities, toured attractions such as the planetarium and the student-run radio station,
hiked
along wooded trails, tackled the outdoor climbing tower, saw a lacrosse game at Ron Joyce
Stadium and learned about the academic and social aspects of university life.

Having the pupils use public transit to get to McMaster was meant to reinforce how easy it
is
to travel from their neighborhood to the university.

The pilot project was conceived by City of Hamilton public health nurse Laura Laverty, who
works at the school in partnership with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, and
McMasters Dean of Social Sciences, Charlotte Yates.

Laverty says its vital that students know there are many educational pathways open to
them, and that university is an important destination for them to consider.

Yates says Laverty approached her about finding a way to offer such an opportunity to
Cathy Wever pupils before they reach high school and begin making choices about their
education and working futures. Much of the project's funding came from fundraising
efforts based at the school.

The university itself and the McMaster-Community Poverty Initiative are supporters of the
pilot project.

“It is important that prospective students from all parts of our community understand that
a McMaster education is within reach,” said McMaster President Patrick Deane. “We
welcome these young visitors, just as we welcome the opportunity to reinforce the fact that
this is truly a public institution.”

Yates says showing young people the pathway to post-secondary education can open their
minds to new possibilities.

“We wanted them to have the kind of experience that would open up their world,” Yates
said. “We want all those students who are able and desiring a post-secondary education of
some sort to know that it's possible.”