This year, the REACH Program saw its biggest residential summer ever, with 191 students spanning four grades spread out across two college campuses. To document it, we gave disposable cameras to REACH students at both Scranton and Fordham.
Since its founding in 2001, the REACH Program has enriched the lives of middle-school students through programming both at Regis and on a college campus. This time on a campus is a critical part of the REACH experience, as students not only grow academically, spiritually, and as leaders, but also get a taste of what college life could be like when they graduate from high school. This element of REACH has grown over the years: Rising sixth graders (our “candidate” students) now go to a separate campus for their three weeks away from New York, while the program has also introduced a fourth-year residential program for students about to begin high school. As a result of these changes, this summer saw the biggest residential summer in REACH’s history, with candidate students at Fordham University in the Bronx, and all other REACH students at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Here’s what it all looked like, as photographed by the students themselves.
REACH’s curriculum is meant to unlock students’ potential, teaching them better study habits and providing them with a foundation to excel academically. “REACH is helping me get ahead at school,” says candidate student Prince Antoine (in foreground). “I really like Civitas and Latin. In Civitas, I like how we learn about history on a more advanced level.”
While on campus during the residential program, students attend Mass together and say a nightly Examen, deepening their relationships with God and learning the importance of serving others. “During nighttime reflection, I can feel the power of God with us,” says rising seventh grader Joseph Villalba (foreground at right). “REACH showed me how important God is in my life.”
During their time at Scranton, REACH students have access to athletic facilities otherwise used by the university’s students. “I’ve never had places like that,” says rising seventh grader Steven Peralta Castro (in foreground closest to camera). “Open to me, available to me? Never.”
REACH seeks to foster students’ leadership potential, in part through its C.O.R.E. initiative. C.O.R.E. (Challenging Outdoor REACH Experiences) is designed to develop students’ self-awareness, communication skills, and cooperative problem solving skills. “Because the activities challenge us to talk and collaborate, my voice has changed a lot, and I’ve built more bonds,” says rising ninth grader Sebastian Pinzon ’28 (second from left).“I’m not really too talkative, but during our activities we learn to talk and cooperate with new people.”
This story appears in the Fall 2024 issue of Regis Magazine.
