TexPREP - Lubbock Program Overview

Goals

• To increase the number of well-prepared pre-college students, particularly women and minorities, who pursue careers in engineering, mathematics, and science
• To acquaint students with professional opportunities in engineering, mathematics, and science
• To reinforce the mathematics preparation of students
• To increase the retention rate of these students in college
• To provide a foundation to be a successful employee

The program enriches normal pre-college instruction by emphasizing college level topics typically not offered in middle school or high school.

TexPREP-Lubbock Program

TexPREP-Lubbock is an academically-intense, mathematics-based, summer enrichment program. The program has been conducted at Texas Tech University through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics since 1986. One of its primary goals is to "lay the foundation to be a successful employee in the work force." The program runs Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. Please see the Calendar tab for the dates.

We offer a creative and challenging program where students develop lifelong learning skills. They gain the intellectual skills needed to succeed in high school courses, college programs, and careers in engineering, mathematics, and science. They also learn the personal and social skills needed to work cooperatively with others, in school and at work.

We recruit students from Lubbock and the school districts in the surrounding 9 counties. We especially recruit (but are not limited to) students who are minorities or are female (because they have traditionally been underrepresented in the professions of math, science and engineering). About half of the participants are females, and in recent years, more than half have been minorities. Furthermore, many of the students (40-50%) come from families where neither parent has a college degree. Since the program began at Texas Tech University in 1986, over 1,500 students have successfully completed at least one year of the program.

Background

Dr. Manuel P. Berriozabal, a professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, founded the Pre-freshman Engineering Program (PREP) in 1979 to identify high achieving middle and high school students with an interest in becoming scientists and engineers and to help them enter these fields. Since then, PREP has expanded throughout Texas as TexPREP with 17 sites and nationally as PREP-USA with 3 sites. More than 32,000 students have successfully completed at least one summer of PREP throughout the nation.

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Texas Tech serves as the host for the program. Dr. Derald Walling (1937 - 1999) was a professor of mathematics at Texas Tech University and the first director of TexPREP-Lubbock, serving from 1986 until 1991. Dr. Benjamin Duran, a statistics professor, was the second director during 1992 and 1993. Dr. Charles Kellogg, a mathematics professor, served as the third director from 1994 to 1998, succeeded by Dr. Jo Anne Temple, developmental mathematics coordinator and professor of mathematics and educational psychology, from 1999 to 2003. Dr. Jerry Dwyer was the Director from 2004 until 2015. Brock Williams served in 2016. Jim Brown has been the director since 2017.

Click here for the Texas Tech University Campus Map (Math Bldg is just to the upper left of Memorial Circle)

Curriculum

The curriculum is designed to strengthen students' ability to solve problems, reason, conjecture and apply mathematical knowledge logically and systematically. It stresses the development of critical thinking, abstract reasoning and systematic analysis.  Through an integrated and hands-on approach, it demonstrates the application of mathematics to diverse disciplines such as science, computer science and engineering.  Students not only develop their mathematical skills and knowledge, but also learn to reason mathematically and communicate both orally and in writing.  In addition, through their experiences of success in a rigorous academic program, they gain a sense of confidence in their own ability and potential.  They learn that hard work, perseverance and commitment result in meaningful knowledge and pride in accomplishment.  The program provides the students with competitive and marketable skills useful when seeking career opportunities.

Over the four-year period, students take a series of classes. The program specifically includes several academic components mathematical logic, algebra topics, probability and statistics, pre-calculus, calculus, computer science, physics, introduction to engineering, university readiness, leadership development, career awareness, robotics, ecology, Earth Science, and astronomy.  Integration of course material is formally built into the program through special events and projects.  These challenge the students' critical and divergent thinking skills and allow for the innovative application of mathematical ideas.  In addition, PREP provides field trips, mentoring by college instructors, high school teachers, undergraduate and graduate students majoring in engineering, mathematics, or science, and career-oriented guest speakers and motivational speakers.  It incorporates technology, hands-on learning, problem solving, cooperative learning and skill development.

Course Credit

All participants are expected to maintain a 70 average or better throughout the program.  Each student earns a final grade that is reported upon request to his or her school.  The Texas Education Agency has given permission for individual school districts to approve PREP participation as an elective credit toward high school graduation.

Field Trips

Participants in PREP are exposed to many departments on the Texas Tech campus.  Students tour the different departments of engineering and the sciences, do projects in several labs, observe demonstrations (such as the Physics Circus), and hear various speakers from the areas of engineering, mathematics, and other sciences.  PREP III students participate in a University Readiness class and are exposed to activities, speakers, and campus tours designed to prepare them to enter college.

Besides visiting departments on campus, the students participate in unique off-campus field trips.  During the summer of 2000, PREP I students attended the 2nd Annual Engineering and Science Extravaganza in San Antonio, Texas.  The Extravaganza was presented by Microsoft and involved a giant science fair, hands-on science experiments, and interactive presentations by Texaco, the CIA, and other corporations.  The PREP II and III students took a trip to Austin and San Antonio to visit engineering-based corporations.  In Austin, they toured Applied Materials to expose them to the area of industrial engineering. Also in Austin, the students visited National Instruments and were able to listen to speakers in the areas of marketing, software and hardware design, and manufacturing.  In San Antonio, the students visited Southwest Research Institute and received tours and demonstrations of research projects that were being conducted.

During the summer of 2001, PREP I students traveled to Dallas/Fort Worth to tour engineering corporations, including Bell Tower Helicopter Textron and Paragon Innovations, and to Six Flags.  PREP II, III and IV participants attended the 3rd Annual Science Extravaganza in San Antonio, also going to Seaworld of Texas.

The summer of 2002 saw the PREP I students attending the 4th Annual Engineering and Science Extravaganza in San Antonio as well as the Wind Engineering Center and Institute of Environmental and Human Health at the Reese Technology Center in Lubbock.  PREP II, III, and IV participated on a trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to visit two engineering-based corporations.  They toured Lockheed Martin (aeronautical engineering) and Paragon Innovations.  At Paragon Innovations, the students were able to see demonstrations of their current projects, including: SmartStart (anti-drunk-driving device), 3M Wall Display (flat-screen presentation and entertainment system), U.S. LED (alternative sign lighting), and NetBotz (environmental monitoring and security system).

Unfortunately, there were not enough funds for a trip during the 2003 program, but in the summer of 2004, the PREP III and IV students traveled to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  The first day was spent at Six Flags over Texas.  The second day they toured Paragon Innovations and Zyvex.  Paragon had some new projects for us to gaze upon, which included: Laser Tag (fully customizable, realistic sounding and looking-almost- designed to compete with paintball) and Plane Parker (safer way to guide planes to terminals; already being installed in Moscow, Italy, Boston, and Atlanta).  From Paragon, the students went to Zyvex -- a nano-technology business.  While there, the students learned about micro-production and the nano-tech industry.

In 2005 the PREP 3 and 4 students visited McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis.  They stayed at the Prude Ranch and had activities such as horseback riding, swimming, and a reptile show.  They also visited Fort Davis National Historic site and the Petroleum Museum in Midland.

In 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012 the PREP 3 and 4 students toured Paragon Innovations and Six Flags.  The engineers in Paragon spent several hours with our students explaining and demonstrating their projects.  They returned to Paragon in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and visited the Zoo in Fort Worth also.  In 2023 they visited Paragon, the Fort Worth Zoo, and the NEXT Lab at Abilene Christian University (a nuclear energy research project).

In 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 PREP 3 and 4 went to McDonald Observatory with a stop at the Commemorative Air Force Museum (now the Midland Army Air Field Museum) in Midland on the way.  They also attended a star party at the Observatory.

In 2024 the PREP 3 and 4 groups visited the solar observatory at Sunspot, New Mexico.  They also visited the Roswell Museum and Art Center to see the Robert Goddard exhibit and the planetarium, as well as the Alameda Park Zoo in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Tuition

TexPREP charges no tuition fee to attend.  The TexPREP staff works hard each year to write proposals for grants to fund the program.  This enables students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to attend without any financial barriers.  However, students are responsible for their providing their own transportation to and from campus and for bringing or buying their own lunch.  We do ask for $10 from each student to pay for T-shirts, Tech ID cards, and pizza and recreation on the last day.  If for some reason you cannot afford the $10 please let our office know.