FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2005
Contact: Joshua Hollis
(662) 329-7119

PEP students gain college credit, experience and independence
  
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Students attending Mississippi University for Women’s Pre-College Enrichment Program are receiving exactly what the program promises: enrichment.
   
The program, commonly known as PEP, provides students, all incoming high school seniors, with an opportunity to experience college life and earn credit while doing so.
   
Dr. Thomas Velek, associate professor of history and director of the international series, heads the program. “This is the premier program for academically gifted high school students.” He told the students on arrival they were “the best and the brightest.”
   
The program is very selective, with strict requirements concerning students’ GPAs and ACT scores. Only 32 students were selected for this year’s program.
   
In participating in the program, the student receives a full tuition scholarship, as well as room and board. The student must enroll in at least six hours, but can take up to nine. When the students leave, not only will they have their first taste of college, they will also have their first college transcript with credits that can almost always be applied for use at other schools.
   
The students attend several symposiums where professors speak on their area of expertise. They have heard presentations from communication professor Dr. Marty Hatton, who spoke on big media and its consequences, and humanities professor Dr. Leslie Stratyner, who spoke on author J.R.R. Tolkein.
   
Dr. Anne Balazs, interim dean for the College of Business, will speak on electronic commerce, and humanities professor Dr. Brian Anderson will speak on terrorism and the limits of security.
   
In addition to their classes and symposiums, the students also attend an international film festival. They also plan to make a trip to Birmingham, Ala., to visit an art museum and the civil rights museum.
   
This year’s PEP program has five states represented: Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Kansas. This provides, Velek said, a cross section of the region, allowing all different types of students to experience and explore MUW.
   
Tempestt Gilmore, from Jackson, said she received a package about the PEP program and “decided to apply to earn college hours.” She said, “I feel like this is as close as I can get to having a college experience before going to college.”
    
Pascagoula native Brittany Pitman said she was told about the PEP program by an admissions counselor visiting her school. She said she likes the bonding that occurs in the PEP program: “It’s fun to live with people who are going through the same experiences as you are.”
   
Lee Conner, Nanih Waiya resident, likes the independence of PEP, saying it’s nice “just to be on your own.”
   
Brittany Hill, from Ridgeland, agrees with Conner. She said, “[PEP] is just different from high school. It’s more thought-provoking. High school can be monotonous. You can speak your mind [here], be independent.”
   
Keith Lowe, from Leeds, Ala., summed it up: “I like that you have enough freedom that it feels like you get college experience, but at the same time the structure they give you allows you to build time management skills. It seems like that’s much more of an issue than it is in high school.”
   
Velek said anyone interested in applying for future PEP sessions should contact him at (662) 329-7393 or email tvelek@muw.edu.
   
This year’s program concludes on Aug. 5.