Build an MP3 Player? It’s a Snap for RIT Engineering Students

Consider it a sign of the times. In years past, arriving early for college may have meant more time searching for good deals on textbooks and finding sheets to fit residence-hall beds.

But for three-dozen first-year women engineering majors at Rochester Institute of Technology, early arrival next week has taken on a more high-tech quality. The students are participating in RIT’s first “I Built an MP3 Player @ RIT,” a four-day workshop, Aug. 23-26, exclusively for freshman female RIT engineering majors.

In addition to learning about the technology inside digital music players by building their own MP3 players, students will get an early taste of college life—both inside and outside the classroom. They will meet RIT engineering faculty and other RIT students and stay in RIT residence halls.

“Through hands-on projects, students get an early introduction to the engineering labs they’ll use in classes,” says Margaret Anderson, assistant dean for student services in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. “But perhaps the most important aspect of the program is they will move in to their rooms early and get a chance meet other classmates and faculty and staff in the engineering college."

Note: For a schedule of events, contact Margaret Anderson, assistant dean, at 475-2971.