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CIS High School Outreach Program

The High School Outreach Program is an effort by Computing and Information Science to inspire interest in high school students in the field. In association with BOOM, CIS brings students on campus for a full day of presentations and hands-on experiences.

History: The program began in 2007 with 15 students attending a full day of exposure to Computer Science. The students from Ellicottville Central School district were engaged throughout their visit as they met with various CIS faculty and staff members, as well as an engineer from Microsoft. The students attended the CIS300 course in Games Design. Their visit concluded after attending the Bits On Our Minds (BOOM) showcase. Due to the positive feedback from teachers and students, during and after their visit, we expanded our vision for a high school outreach program.

Current: The program was developed and taken across New York State. Out of twenty-five middle & high schools that were contacted, thirteen invited us to present to their students. The presentation gave an overview of

  • basic requirements for CS/IS college degree
  • what one can expect as Cornell CS/IS student
  • interesting things to do while a CS/IS student
  • earning potential for CS/IS graduates
  • what Computer Scientists do
  • information and tools to begin preparing for an education in CS/IS
  • what is BOOM and why should one attend

Throughout the presentation, students are asked questions relevant to the field and are awarded prizes for correct answers. The presentation concludes with an invitation to all who attended to visit Cornell and the annual BOOM showcase - to see first hand what Cornell undergraduate and masters students are working on.

Students attended a full day of informational talks on various research topics given by CIS graduate students and faculty. This year's program was attended by over 100 students.



Photos from the 2008 High School Outreach Program can be viewed here:
2008outreachphotos.htm

Contact Us

For information on planning your school group's visit to BOOM, email boom@cs.cornell.edu


Contact | Acknowledgments | Last updated 11.20.2008