On a beautiful spring day a few weeks ago, more than 140 fourth-graders from the Old Bridge (NJ) School District visited the G.H. Cook Campus to get a look at what life is like at college. They visited Rutgers Gardens, petted baby animals on College Farm, peeked inside dorm rooms, and ogled the facilities at the Cook-Douglass Recreation Center.

 

And in the process, they fell in love with Rutgers and the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

 

The Office of Community Engagement was assisted during their visit by several brothers of Alpha Zeta honorary fraternity. Our great AZ volunteers gave the youngsters a first-hand view of college, and the view was enhanced by Dean Carol Andrew who talked to them about preparing for college -- even at such a young age.

 

The students wrote thank-you notes with their comments (some very funny!) about their tour. Read excerpts and see more photos by visiting a special School Spotlight here.

Looking sharp in their School of Environmental and Biological Sciences' graduation gowns of black with dark green trim, the Class of 2012 was honored at the School's convocation on May 14 in the Louis Brown Athletic Center (fondly known as the RAC). Rain and threatening thunderstorms drove the event indoors for the third year in a row, but the graduates were reminded that "Passion Puddle is a state of mind" by sporting buttons with a photo of the puddle -- thanks to alumna Laurel Van Leer and her committee of volunteers.

A record 35 students graduated summa cum laude, including two who earned only A's during their entire four years at the School for a perfect 4.0: Arwa Abbas, a Biotechnology major and Biochemistry minor, and Jennifer Komaiko, who majored in Food Science with a minor in Chemistry.

We wish all our graduates much success and ask them -- and everyone -- to keep in touch by enrolling in our Master Invitation List on the Discovery Initiative website.

Devinn Lambert, a junior in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, never thought she would like laboratory research until as an incoming freshman she got a taste of it through the Aresty Research Center at Rutgers. As a biotechnology major her courses are filled with laboratory work, at which she has excelled -- enough to earn her a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for Excellence in mathematics, science and engineering. Only 282 undergraduates nationwide were selected by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation for this year's honors. The other Rutgers student honored was Kelvin Mei, a physics major in the School of Arts and Sciences. You can read more about these two outstanding scholars on the Rutgers Media Relations website.