David Jarow, twin sister Dana Jarow, and cousin Amber Chmura are mentoring Camden teenagers in the Rutgers Future Scholars Program, a university-wide initiative that introduces first-generation, low-income, and academically talented youth to the promise and opportunities of a college education.
David, Dana, and Amber grew up next door to each other in Winslow, graduated from Winslow Township High School together, and even decided to come to Rutgers–Camden as a family.
It was only natural that they all become involved with the Future Scholars Program.
“I couldn't ask for more working with my cousins,” says Chmura, a senior math major. “It’s great. I look forward to going to work and sharing all the memories with Dana and Dave as well as with the scholars and staff.”
Launched in June 2008, the Rutgers Future Scholars Program enrolls 50 rising eighth-grade students in the Camden public school system and LEAP University Academy Charter School each summer. The multi-pronged Rutgers initiative works to prepare teens for college by providing them with academic and social development support throughout their secondary school careers and tuition support from Rutgers upon graduation from high school and admittance to Rutgers.
“During the school year, we tutor the students,” says David Jarow, a junior math major. “We go to the high schools and sometimes the students come to Rutgers–Camden. We help them with their homework, their projects, and we help them study for tests. They get real excited when we come. It’s great to watch them learn.”
David Jarow says being able to do all of that while working side-by-side with his sister a
“It makes it more fun to do it with them and the kids enjoy it, too,” he says. “They think it’s cool.”
The three like to think of the future scholars as part of their extended family.
“The kids ask you for advice and they look up to you,” says Dana Jarow, a nursing major. “It’s nice to be able to help them out. It’s especially important to give the kids of Camden this opportunity.”
Nyeema Watson, administrative director for the Center for Children and Childhood Studies at Rutgers–Camden, says David, Dana, and Amber show the future scholars the same care and support they show each other.
“They have been quiet but powerful forces within the program,” Watson says. “They have been with us since the beginning and have made a positive impact on the lives of the scholars. Not only do the scholars tell us how much they enjoy engaging with the three of them, the scholars’ parents call and ask for them by name and tell us how much the scholars speak about them and appreciate the support they have given them.”
David, Dana, and Amber aren’t the only members of the family currently enrolled at Rutgers–Camden. Carl Jarow, who is David and Dana’s brother, is a senior accounting major and Brooke Chmura, who is Amber’s sister, is a junior childhood studies major.
“We’ve always been close,” Dana Jarow says. “So, it’s is normal for us to do something like this together.”
In Camden, the Rutgers Future Scholars come from nine middle schools and five high schools.
All incoming Rutgers–Camden Future Scholars spend a week of their summer vacation on campus to receive an introduction to college life. The students are introduced to many opportunities that Rutgers–Camden has to offer and meet with current Rutgers students who graduated from Camden schools, participate in programs related to the fine arts on the Rutgers–Camden campus, and attend courses in such a range of fields, including science and law.
During subsequent summers, the Rutgers Future Scholars participate in residential summer programs designed to promote academic skills in mathematics, language arts, and the sciences. The students also learn about career opportunities through sessions at the Rutgers–Camden Career Center and engage in athletics activities on campus.
“I love giving them the opportunity to make something of themselves and giving them the encouragement that they can achieve their goals,” Amber Chmura says. “Working with them and being around them makes my day, it puts a smile on my face just knowing that I could be making a difference in their lives.”
-30-
Media Contact: Ed Moorhouse
(856) 225-6759
E-mail: ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu