More than 237 high school students recently attended college-level courses on Pratt’s Brooklyn campus as part of Summer PreCollege. The rigorous, four-week program helps participants build their portfolios and learn new concepts, techniques, and skills related to art, design, architecture, and creative writing. Students take courses with world-class faculty alongside other young creatives who share their passion for higher education.
The Black Alumni of Pratt (BAP) provides full PreCollege scholarships annually for Black and Latinx students based in the New York City area, many of whom have gone on to attend Pratt or other art and design colleges. This year’s BAP PreCollege Summer Scholars were Deva Herbert Bai, Javier Leal, and Sakura Tang who were selected based on the strength of their portfolios.
During the program, the BAP Scholars studied different disciplines, visited museums, and lived in Pratt residence halls along with other PreCollege students, getting a feel for the college experience and learning useful life skills.
BAP Scholar Javier Leal of Peekskill, New York, said that the focused atmosphere of PreCollege aligned with his creative and academic interests. He was also impressed with the international perspectives he encountered. In fact, 17.87% of this year’s class came from countries outside of the United States.
“PreCollege was interesting because I’m used to seeing the same type of people in my classes who don’t really find art as interesting as people that I met in this program,” he said. “I learned about different cultural backgrounds and different types and techniques of art that I’m not really used to.”
Leal is excited to build upon what he learned during PreCollege as he begins his journey as a first-year student at Pratt. Two previous BAP Scholars, Javen Cummins and Bianca Dundas, have also enrolled as first-year students at Pratt starting this fall.
“I had always enjoyed making art as well as seeing animated films,” Leal said. “The program gave a glance of what it actually takes to do these two things and taught me what areas I need to improve.”
The Sequential Arts course taught BAP Scholar Sakura Tang of Brooklyn how to write more creative narratives and bring her work “to the next level.”
“The class helped me learn more about the intricacies behind comics and their creators,” she said. “It also gave me meaningful information on how illustrators use selective ways to show emotions on a 5-panel page.”
For Tang, drawing has been a way to deal with stress and connect with others, but she’s mostly seen it as a hobby. PreCollege changed her understanding of art, showing her that she can pursue her passion as a profession.
“I learned that my art could mean something to the world as a result of the Precollege Summer Program,” she said. “Thanks to the teachers and people I got to meet, I learned how to believe in myself and that my work can become something more than just characters I drew on a Sunday afternoon. I also learned that I had a love for digital and technological art and I plan to pursue it further using the apps and software I was taught and shown how to use during the program.”
BAP Scholar Deva Herbert Bai of Brooklyn expanded her knowledge of digital arts over the four-week program and enjoyed getting to visit museums, where she encountered new forms and styles of art.
Bai isn’t sure if she’ll pursue art as a career, but she knows that it will always play an integral role in her life.
“I am grateful for this opportunity, and while I may not know the details of how, I will definitely do everything in my power to offer the same kinds of support to others,” she said.
PreCollege is where high school artists, designers and innovative thinkers develop their skills and creative voice, and create work for their college admission portfolio. Learn more about The Black Alumni of Pratt, the Pratt PreCollege program, and Pratt Undergraduate Admissions.