PROGRAM HELPS DEAF STUDENTS EXPLORE THE FUTURE

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), is hosting its 18th annual Explore Your Future (EYF), a week-long program designed to provide deaf and hard-of-hearing high school juniors an opportunity to better understand careers in the arts, business, computers, engineering, the helping professions, and sciences.

Participants will enjoy hands-on experience in each of the six career areas, as well as learning the technical, professional and liberal arts preparation each career area requires. Career counselors will promote personal development, help students clarify their interests and values, and enhance the students’ decision-making abilities.

NTID faculty and staff and deaf professionals from the Rochester, N.Y., area present the program, introducing students to deaf culture and college life. Students attend classes, learn to study, manage time, and adjust to being away from home. Non-curricular and social activities promote confidence, leadership, independence, trust building, and self-awareness.

"Most EYF participants are the only deaf or hard-of-hearing student in their high schools," explained Jean Bondi-Wolcott, program coordinator at NTID. "The educational and social experience they gain while at EYF through meeting other deaf and hard-of-hearing students from around the country is very enlightening. They leave with more confidence to make decisions about their future."

A workshop is also offered for parents, which teaches strategies for helping their child transition from high school to college or the workforce.

NTID’s Explore Your Future 2001 sessions are scheduled July 21-27 and July 28-August 3. The cost is $625 per student, which includes housing, meals and all programming. A limited number of scholarships are available to students who need financial assistance.

For more information or to register call (716) 475-6705 (voice/TTY), send e-mail to jmb4646@rit.edu, or visit the Web site at: www.rit.edu/NTID/EYF.

The first and largest technological college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, NTID, one of eight colleges of RIT, offers educational programs and access and support services to the 1,100 deaf and hard-of-hearing students from around the world who study, live, and socialize with 12,000 hearing students on RIT's Rochester, N.Y., campus. Web address: http://www.rit.edu/NTID