Mary Jaharis Center Announces Pre-College Program
The Mary Jaharis Center has announced its inaugural Pre-College Program at Hellenic College. Aimed at rising juniors and seniors looking to experience the intellectual challenges of college coursework and the independence of living on a college campus, the Pre-College Program will run from June 29–July 18, 2014.
All students will have the chance to earn three college credits in a course that will take as its subject four of Byzantium’s most important cities—Constantinople, Jerusalem, Thessaloniki, and Mystras. The purpose of the course is to explore the Byzantine Empire and its material culture, introduce historical and anthropological conceptions of the city, and build writing skills. Students will also have the opportunity to take advantage of a SAT preparation course and other events designed to ready them for the college application process.
Students will live in residential housing on Hellenic College Holy Cross’s beautiful hilltop campus. Extracurricular trips are planned to explore Boston and its environs.
Brandie Ratliff, Director of the Mary Jaharis Center, is excited about the opportunity this program represents for students interested in learning about Byzantine art and culture and for the MJC to engage with a new audience. “Pre-college programs have become an increasingly important component in the mission of many American colleges and universities. Our program will provide the experience of living and learning in a college environment that so many high school students want, but it has the unique value letting them study Byzantine history and culture at the intellectual, educational and spiritual center of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.”