RIT on TV News: Explore Your Future

R News reports on the Explore Your Future program hosted by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology.

More than 200 high school sophomore and juniors have been in Rochester over the past two weeks, and theyre either deaf or hard of hearing, and had a chance to learn more about college and future careers. R News' Scott Patterson and photojournalist Brian Beard have the story.

It sure looks like a lot of fun. But these Lego cars helped kids get a taste of realistic engineering. And these CSI experiments helped them learn about investigative science.

The investigating, the CSI, I really liked that.

Blane Kaplan of West Henrietta took part in the 25th annual explore your future, a weeklong experience at RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

These students come from all over the United States, as far away as California, Washington state, southern Florida.

Mark Sommer is director of pre-college initiatives for NTID. In addition to learning about science, business, and computer graphics, there's also a strong social component. The majority of the students is from mainstream schools.

Really for the most part they're alone in the school situation. So this kind of program gives them an opportunity to meet other peers.

I'm alone in a mainstream program. I'm the only deaf, hard of hearing person there.

Jordan Lee came to the program from Minnesota.

I met so many nice people. It really was astounding. It's so different to meet so many deaf people that are from so many different states.

The experience has changed her perspective on what she wants to do after she graduates next year.

Im very excited to come here. I'm really hoping that next year I can come here.

Scott Patterson, R News.

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Education

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• Deaf