Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1039487
7 THE MUSIC MAN When TCNJ music major Chris McEwan '19 started observing music classes in public schools in Trenton as part of the curriculum for his major, he immediately sensed additional resources were needed to help inspire students interested in music. McEwan, along with some help from his Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity brothers, launched a campaign to raise money and collect used instruments to help support music programs in the public schools in Trenton. McEwan, himself a violinist and horn player, launched a GoFundMe page in November 2017 and also set up points on campus to collect donated instruments, music books, and other supplies. In just five weeks, the group had secured $2,000 in cash donations and over $10,000 in instruments and other supplies, far exceeding their modest initial goal of $250. McEwan, a native of Wall, NJ, and his brothers from Phi Mu Alpha attended a Trenton School Board meeting in March and formally announced their donations to three Trenton schools: Trenton Central High School, Dunn Middle School, and Hedgepeth-Williams Middle School. The equipment was delivered to the schools in April. The group plans to launch another campaign in spring 2019 to help additional schools around the Ewing and Trenton areas bolster their resources for music education. CAMPUS CAREER DAY FOR LOCAL MIDDLE SCHOOLERS On April 25, TCNJ hosted the first Trenton Middle School Day and welcomed 250 eighth-grade students from Kilmer Middle School and Rivera Middle School to campus. The event allowed the students to explore possible careers, which is a part of their interdisciplinary curriculum. The goal was to empower and inspire the students by demonstrating what college might offer them and open their eyes to careers they might never have envisioned. The day included a career fair, scavenger hunt, lunch in Eickhoff Hall, and performances in Mayo Hall. OUTREACH INITIATIVES TCNJ students, faculty, and staff collaborate with local community organizations on a variety of projects. They offer expertise, supplies, support, and more to over 50 community organizations in Trenton and Ewing on projects such as: • Community-based academic internships • Ewing /TCNJ Community Fest • Trenton Makes Music • Mercer County Re-entry Task Force • Elementary and middle school mentoring and tutoring programs • Bonner Summer Fellows Pre-College Program • Supplying food and volunteers to area food banks and soup kitchens • Community-engaged art installations • Volunteer youth sports coaching • Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy • Mindfulness meditation for after- school youth programs • Multilingual health fairs • Course work to support community mental health organizations • Theater collaborations with students from the ARC Mercer • Bridge to Employment with Johnson & Johnson and Trenton High School West students from Trenton Central High School; the New Jersey Council for the Humanities; TCNJ students, staff, alumni, and faculty; TCNJ's Department of Special Education, Language, and Literacy; and local and national disability rights advocates. Tulia Jimenez-Vergara, instructor of Spanish, has coordinated TCNJ student volunteers, who work with the Mercer County Hispanic community in a variety of ways. Through a series of health fairs in Trenton, they have assisted patients and translated for doctors and nurses. The students also coordinate the FUTURO program, a youth mentoring non- profit that assists first-generation immigrants and Trenton high school juniors with applying to college. Assistant Professor of Education Lauren Shallish and the Hanover Campus of Trenton Central High School collaborated on a project dubbed "Troublemakers." The program seeks to address local issues of educational equity and social justice through sustained dialogue and coalition building with a particular focus on those who are labeled with or identify as disabled. In February, TCNJ welcomed more than 60 Cultural and Justice Studies Scholars from Trenton Central High School to campus. The students worked to organize a public talk and institute, which included keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and workshops. Topics focused on issues of equity and social justice, and perspectives on gender, race, and disability in the context of schooling. The institute was developed in partnership with high school IN BRIEF