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RIT honored the service and dedication of its employees with the Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff ceremony March 22. The annual awards are presented to staff members who exemplify outstanding service and dedication to the university and who exhibit a high degree of personal ethics and integrity while consistently demonstrating a strong commitment to student success.

Upward of 20 RIT student workers are hired each year to support the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology. It’s a way to utilize student talents in a variety of roles to help meet the mission of the K-12 center, while giving them the professional experience needed to be successful in the real world.

While Imagine RIT aims to promote student work from those attending the university, middle school students had the opportunity in the past to also highlight science displays and other projects they have worked on through the Science and Technology Entry Program administered by the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology. The K-12 center works to promote youth experiences at the annual festival that attracts about 30,000 guests a year to learn more – and interact with – students on campus who are highlighting the work they’ve done throughout the school year in a variety of studies.

Rochester Prep High School students have been participating in the spring capstone program throughout March. It’s an annual opportunity – facilitated by RIT’s K-12 University Center – meant to help foster a relationship among the Rochester-based charter school and the university, in a partnership that began about a decade ago. It allows students to work alongside RIT faculty on various research projects, which also exposes them to other campus experiences.

Robotics teams will take on the challenges of bringing energy to their communities in the upcoming FIRST Robotics Finger Lakes Regional competition. The annual student robotics competition opens at the Gordon Field House at RIT on March 17.

The Army Educational Outreach Program Apprenticeships and Fellowships team was nominated for a 2022 Presidential Award for Outstanding Staff at Rochester Institute of Technology. Awards will be announced at a ceremony on March 22. Its director, who is also the executive director of RIT's K-12 University Center, was nominated for an individual award.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who is now studying mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology attributes his involvement with RIT’s Veterans Club for allowing him the opportunities to learn more about campus and get involved in the community – one which recently included being a judge in the We?Veterans Pin Design Challenge, sponsored by the Army Educational Outreach Program and Future Engineers. AEOP’s apprenticeships and fellowships division is housed at RIT’s K-12 University Center and administered on behalf of the U.S. Army.

Two staff members from Rochester Institute of Technology's K-12 University Center were part of the Cool Women/Hot Jobs event at Young Women's College Prep Charter School of Rochester. The goal was to expose students to different career fields from women professionals in the area who shared their personal and professional journeys.

Plastic pollutants, the coronavirus, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the strength of nanowires, and why freshly cut grass smells the way it does—these are some of the topics students from Rochester Prep High School explored during a mentorship program with RIT faculty. They shared their projects and new perspectives during the RIT-Rochester Prep Capstone Showcase held Feb. 6 at RIT.

The Chronicle of Higher Education features RIT’s Career Ready Bootcamp, led by RIT's Spectrum Support Program. (This content requires a subscription to view.)

Rochester Institute of Technology second-year mechanical engineering student Julia O’Gorman was in high school when her journey started with the Army Educational Outreach Program. Her apprenticeship experience happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant nearly everything went virtual, but used it to capitalize on opportunities that may not have been afforded to her otherwise – thanks to program leadership through RIT's K-12 University Center who believed in providing those experiences despite the obstacles.

Students from Rochester Prep High School have the chance to participate in the annual capstone experience in one of four areas of study. One is with Women in Science through the College of Science, where three students have been working closely with faculty from the program to learn more about various disciplines in science, technology, engineering and math.