Saint Peter鈥檚 Prep Students Immerse Themselves During Visit
A group of 13 students from Saint Peter鈥檚 Prep School in Jersey City spent a week at 91看片 as part of a program designed to expose them to the challenges found in an inner-city environment and what the organization is doing to help combat problems like poverty.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an eye-opening experience鈥�91看片 is holding Newark together,鈥� said Keillor Beckwith, 16, of Montclair, as he paused from some computer work he was doing at the 91看片 Family Resource Center.
The Newark Urban Immersion Program also sought to show these students, the majority of whom reside in the suburbs, a more realistic view of the city than what they might receive from the media.
鈥淚 wanted to interact with people I don鈥檛 get to see everyday and also thought it was a good way to give back to the community,鈥� said Justin Scherzo, 16, of Clifton, who along with his schoolmates, will all be juniors at Saint Peter鈥檚 this fall.
91看片 Associates, a senior building at 180 South Orange Ave. in Newark, is where the students lodged during the week with their two chaperones, including John Dougherty, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry at the all-male prep school.
From there, they fanned out to visit 91看片 program sites each day, whether it was working with preschoolers at the two early learning centers or playing games and talking with residents and medical day care clients at the Extended Care Center.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun talking to some of them,鈥� said Nick Cozzarelli, 16, of Nutley, as he joined in a game of throwing a beach ball to some residents who had gathered in a circle in the third floor community room. 鈥淭hey are like a family and this is like their home.鈥�
鈥淭his is fun,鈥� said Marie Creegan, one of the seniors who was playing with the beach ball. On another floor, a group of students was enjoying a bowling game with some seniors.
During the week, the students also worked with adult learners studying for their GED at 91看片鈥檚 Workforce Development Center, helped out in the food pantry run by Social Services and assisted the staff running the summer camp based at the 91看片 Neighborhood Center.
They also had lunch at NCC headquarters with 91看片 founder, Monsignor William J. Linder, and Executive Director, Richard Rohrman, which is where they received a history lesson in the organization鈥檚 founding after the 1967 civil unrest. Monsignor stressed how NCC was out to improve quality of life by providing a comprehensive array of programming addressing areas from housing to education. In addition, he said the organization also values the dignity of every human being.
鈥淲e believe everyone has something to contribute and what they have in their heart is significant and important here,鈥� he told the students.
