Faces of (MS)2

S E C A F of

) S (M

2

A Phillips Academy Outreach Program

Mathematics + Science

for

Minority Students

(MS)2 was founded in 1977 to address the compelling need to cultivate the mathematical and scientific abilities of economically disadvantaged African American, Latino, and Native American high school students.

In a residential setting on the historic Phillips Academy campus in Andover, Massachusetts, the three-summer program challenges students intellectually and exposes them to peers and educators with diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and aspirations.

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A Proven Program with a Long History of Success

In 1986, a junior at Lawrence High School in Massachusetts, I was invited to participate in an urban studies program at Phillips Academy. Living and studying on the Andover campus for a semester transformed my life. My academic and professional sights were raised, and the trajectory for my life’s work was forever altered. I went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and two advanced degrees in education, and decided to devote my career to education—as a math teacher and then as a high school principal.

Now, as director of (MS)², I have the good fortune of inviting economically disadvantaged young people from across the country to come to Andover for their own life-changing academic and personal experiences. Many of them will go on to become the first in their families to attend college, as I was. It is so gratiÃing to come full circle and hold the door wide open for the many talented young people who enter (MS)². Meet a few of them in the pages that follow.

Dianne D. Cruz Director, (MS)²

98% of (MS)2 alumni go on to four-year colleges or universities.

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Living a Dream to Help Others Christal Joy Forgenie, MD, credits (MS)2 with having a huge impact on her decision to become a pediatrician. She’s also quick to point to the lasting effects of its lessons outside the classroom.

Raised in a culturally diverse community in Brooklyn as part of a Trinidadian family, Christal was still surprised by the variety of linguistic, ethnic, and racial

Christal Joy Forgenie, (MS)2 ’95

Pediatrician Montefiore Medical Center Inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which recognizes medical students, residents, and physician teachers for “demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership,

backgrounds she encountered at Andover.

compassion and dedication to

“It was a welcome, fun, and exciting

service.”

form of culture shock,” she says. After finishing the program she came back as a biology teaching assistant in 2000, and as a teacher the following year.

“These experiences led me to understand that (MS)2 wasn’t just there to help me, but to help me help others,” she says.

“I finally saw myself as part of a huge, diverse community that I wanted—and had an obligation—to give back to.”

She’s still giving back, through her thriving pediatric practice, where she sees some 30 patients five-plus days a week, and by routinely mentoring medical

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students and residents.

In 2011, (MS)2 enrolled students from 17 states, 43 cities, and 12 Native American communities.

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I don’t know of any program that is so devoted to underrepresented students of color.

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My best experiences were meeting people Ă?om all over the country and meeting a lot of international students who became my good Ă?iends.

Encountering a Whole New World Shawn Pacheco says his largest challenge at (MS)2 was the climate.

Shawn lives in New Mexico, where he’s

Shawn A. Pacheco, (MS)2 ’13

a student at the Santa Fe Indian School.

The humid New England summertime

Student Santa Fe Indian School

weather took some adjusting, particularly

He enjoyed the chemistry labs

severe drought. But that one contrast

that were part of (MS) , but

helped Shawn begin to understand that

found it was his English class

there is “a whole new world outside the

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that stretched him most in new directions.

as his home region struggled through a

reservation.”

Taking part in the program has helped him become more focused in school; he says his parents and teachers have observed “that now I don’t give up right away, and I finish everything I start. I have learned to be organized, to be responsible for my own work, and I have learned time management through (MS)2.”

Shawn sees the change in himself, too:

58% of (MS) graduates attend the top 50 U.S. colleges.

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“My hopes are building every second in my academics,” he says with pride.

He has set his sights on a math and engineering course in college and is working confidently toward his goals.

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Empowering an Education Reformer Venus Velez-Vann was raised in Manhattan, but arriving at Andover showed her just how insular her life and schooling had been.

Venus A. Velez-Vann, (MS)2 ’86

“I loved being around kids who looked like

Education Consultant

me and had similar backgrounds,” she says

Worked with the NYC Department

of coming to (MS)2, “kids who were smart, and shared many of the same goals.”

of Education to open four new high schools in a community that desperately needed them

Like other attendees, Venus eagerly embraced the challenge of the rigorous math and science courses, but she also discovered a new interest—politics and social justice issues. Her time at (MS)2 also raised her awareness of educational disparities related to income, something that drives her on school reform and family engagement.

Most significant—Venus realized that she liked learning for learning’s sake. “It changed my mindset from what I could do to what I will do,” she says.

And Venus has done a lot: she helped implement a program similar to (MS)2 in Harlem high schools; its students have a 95% rate of graduation and placement in 4-year colleges. She also worked to end discriminatory practices in one NYC

8 district’s school admissions process.

Each summer, every student engages in 120 hours of intense math and science instruction.

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(MS)² is so thoughtfully and skillfully designed—pooling together resources in a way that most programs are unable to do.

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Being Ïom New York CiÙ, I Ïequently encountered people Ïom countries with di◊erent cultures, but Andover presented the opportuniÙ to learn Ïom them.

Learning to Excel in Academics and in Life Arnold Principal was raised by his mother, a Haitian immigrant, who worked two jobs and pushed her children to excel academically. Arnold was accepted to the A Better Chance program at New Canaan (Conn.) High School as a boarding student after his first summer at (MS)2.

Arnold Principal, (MS)2 ’86

He says the extra academic focus during

Founder and CEO SYP Capital Management At Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, he was part of a team that managed more than $1.2 billion

his time at (MS)2 prepared him for the year ahead, and his math, science, and writing skills all improved. His mother and teachers also noted changes in his character—in his levels of self-confidence,

in assets.

personal responsibility, and focus.

Arnold embraced the independent school life: “I wore my ‘preppie’ status as a badge of honor,” he says, “but I made it clear to my friends at home that I was not smarter or better—I’d just taken advantage of an opportunity given to me.”

(MS)2 is a highly selective program— 8% of the applicants each year are accepted.

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After graduating from Holy Cross, Arnold spent time at Lehman Brothers and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi before founding his own firm, SYPCAP, which manages more than $70 million in assets for high–net-worth individuals and nonprofit organizations.

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Engineering a Promising Career At times, Jerisson De La Cruz wasn’t

Jerisson J. De La Cruz, (MS)2 ’11

successfully, or whether it was even

Student Rochester Institute of Technology

worthwhile. Eventually, (MS)2 taught him

Attended the Lawrence (Mass.)

how the lessons he was learning were

Math, Science and Technology

convinced he’d be able to finish (MS)2

applicable to his life.

Academy; plans to be a professional game developer. He’s

“I was able to see myself as a student

also published poetry and written

of the world,” he says. “(MS)2 helps to

in defense of his hometown in

break through the limitations urban kids

online forums.

have set for themselves and to move forward in their lives and aspirations with determination.”

During the program, Jerisson worked on his college essay—comparing himself to the iconic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog.

“It was deconstructed, analyzed, and reconstructed more times than I can count,” he says, “but I could see my whole development as a person over the past three years in that paper.”

Jerisson is now pursuing a degree in game design and development at the Rochester Institute of Technology on scholarship.

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The dropout rate for students enrolled in (MS)2 is less than 1%.

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÷ere were academic limitations for me, coming Ïom an urban public school.

(MS)² gave me the opportuniÙ to go above and beyond those limitations.

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Be Part of this Extraordinary Program…

Gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations are essential to the program’s day-to-day operations and the long-term financial health of (MS)2.

The annual budget of $700,000 covers the full cost of the participation of approximately 110 scholars each summer—including round-trip travel from their home states, room and board, and tuition for three summers—plus the salaries and expenses of the director, faculty, and staff.

Building the (MS)2 endowment will ensure future generations of talented and deserving young students access to this proven program.

A gift of $6,000 supports one scholar each summer.

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A gift of $125,000 to the endowment supports one named student scholarship in perpetuity.

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Advisory Council

Established in 2011, the (MS)2 Advisory Council provides strategic guidance to assure that the program stays consistent with its mission, and that it has adequate staffing and financial resources. In its first year, the council focused on strengthening alumni engagement.

Members Nicholas Vantzelfde ’97, Chair Boston, Massachusetts

William M. Lewis Jr. ’74 New York, New York

Roy Adams, (MS)2 ’95 New York, New York

Louise MacMillan Andover, Massachusetts

Lawrence H. Curtis Boxford, Massachusetts

David J. McGrath III Andover, Massachusetts

Joseph Goodman ’54 Los Altos, California

Donna Sanabria, (MS)2 ’87 White Plains, New York

Molly Keller ’89 Burlington, Wisconsin

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(MS)2

180 Main Street Andover MA 01810-4161 978-749-4402 www.andover.edu/ms2 16