Making the Humanities Come Alive at Tri-C

The Mandel Youth Humanities Academy teaches high school students to think deeply in a higher education setting

This summer, a new cohort of rising high school juniors and seniors will arrive at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) to broaden their understanding of the humanities and get a peek at college-level academics.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Youth Humanities Academy is a nine-week summer program that prepares high school students for college. The academy was highlighted in a Cleveland Magazine article that illustrated the importance of studying the humanities — even for someone considering a career path in health care or engineering.

"The study of the humanities is still important for the development of self and the realizing of possibilities," said David Busch, Ph.D., the program manager of the Mandel Youth Humanities Academy.

The academy opened in 2022 with a focus on recruiting first-generation college students from Cleveland’s inner-ring suburbs and some suburban communities. The program is free and provides students with a stipend.

In its first two summers, 55 high school students studied at the academy. Of the 14 academy students who have since graduated from high school, 86% are enrolled in college — 58% of whom are first-generation students.

"These students want to do summer humanities programs but normally can’t because they need to work part-time or full-time jobs to help support their families, or the programs themselves are not affordable," Busch said. "The stipends remove that either/or situation for them."
 
Learn more about the Mandel Youth Humanities Academy on the Tri-C website. Read the story on Cleveland Magazine's website.

May 21, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu