Lab days on lab days for the seniors

Senior year for the scholars means a lot of time spent in computer labs. Filling out applications, revising essays, researching colleges, and scholarships.

First Day of Academy!

The day’s goal for the advocates was to prepare scholars to work with Karla on their college entrance essays. They wanted for those that had something written down already to […]

First Day!? Essays!

Seniors hit the ground running, starting right in on their college essays on their first day of Academy! Fall semester is a busy time for the seniors and their advocates, […]

Senior College Workshops

Over the summer, rising senior Scholars joined us on campus to start preparing to research for and apply to college. We spent two weeks on campus together going over everything […]

Fall Mentor Meeting

This past Saturday, Mentors and Advocates gathered together to discuss the importance of our roles in the Parsons Pre-College Program and how we can offer our support to keeping this […]

Seniors Prep for the Semester

Seniors give up their last free Saturday of the semester to meet with us to prepare for the semester. We tried a VERY difficult ice breaker!

Havanna Fisher, Youth Advocate

Havanna is a budding interdisciplinary artist from Harlem who works across the fields of design, performing arts and film. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in fashion design from […]

Summer Senior College Workshops

For a few weeks in August, the soon-to-be seniors came on campus to start working on their college applications. They spent hours each day researching colleges, learning about majors, and […]

Sophomore Workshops

We welcomed our fresh bunch of talented sophomores this Spring to The New School! For the past few weeks, the Scholars have in engaged in trips to The Metropolitan Museum […]

First Day of Spring Academy! Ice Breaker at Lunch!

On Saturday January 30th, Scholars, Mentors, and Youth Advocates gathered together for an Ice Breaker check-in where they stood in a circle and said one word that described how they were […]

Sophomore Trip to Studio Museum of Harlem

On their first day of the Parsons Scholars Program, sophomore scholars take a field trip to the Studio Museum of Harlem with their advocates Yashua and Havanna to look at the […]

Ice Breaker, October 24

On Saturday, Scholars, Mentors, and Youth Advocates gathered together for an Ice Breaker that was sort of a sequel to several Saturdays ago’s Cypher Sessions […]

Portfolio Redefined 2015, October 10

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 the Parsons Scholars Senior group along with other New York City senior high school students attended Portfolio Redefined Workshop held by Joan Mitchell Foundation and […]

Cypher Sessions, October 3

On Saturday, Scholars and Mentors gathered for a group exercise that used creative writing, group thinking and “hot fire emoji” lyrics for a socially aware rap cypher. Youth Advocate, Ladin […]

Mentor Orientation, September 26

Our mentors, new first year students and more experienced alike gathered this past Saturday, September 26 for an afternoon to get energized for the upcoming fall Pre College Academy. […]

Now Recruiting: NYC Public School 10th Graders for Parsons Scholars Program

What is the Parsons Scholars Program?The Parsons Scholars Program is a multi-year scholarship program for New York City public school students interested in art and design study. Accepted students participate […]

NYCore Workshops: We Are the Experts of our Lives Creative Youth Activism

This past Saturday, the senior scholars as well as the advocates and one other mentor and I had the opportunity to participate in a series of workshops headed by NYCore […]

Careers in the Arts Fair with the Joan Mitchell Foundation

This past weekend, the Parsons Scholars Program, combined with the Joan Mitchell Foundation as The New School hosted the Careers in the Arts Fair. There were about 200 students […]

Sable Smith’s Digital Photography Class

My name is Alex Fields and I am a mentor for the Parsons Pre-College Program. As part of my job with the program, I am also a Teacher’s Assistant. I […]

Teach-In 2

This past Saturday, the scholars, along with our new sophomores took part in a series of workshops as part of our Teach-In. The Teach-In workshops included: Sex-E Collective Presents: Consent […]

College Workshop with the Juniors

On November 9th, Nadia led the junior scholars in a college research work-shop to start prepping them early on the college research process. The scholars were asked about how much […]

Parsons Scholars at Festival!

Join us Saturday, May 18th from 4pm-7pm for a stunning exhibition of art and design projects by the Parsons Scholars! The afternoon will begin with our seniors presenting their learning […]

Open Studio and Parsons Paris Scholarship Recipients

On April 27th, the scholars had their annual Open Studio event where they showcase their work from the semester for their family, friends and other scholars. The scholars and their […]

The Sophomore Scholars Visit The New Museum

On April 20th, our sophomore scholars visited the New Museum to see their latest exhibit, “NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.” The exhibit showcases references to culturally […]

New Sophomore Orientation and Sheila Johnson Gallery Visit

On February 16th, we welcomed our new sophomores into the Parsons Scholars Program by giving them the run-down of the program through the Pre-College orientation. After class, we took the […]

The Scholars Visit Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder’s “Camera Obscura Installation”

On February 20th, the scholars went to Madison Square Park to visit artists Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder’s “Camera Obscura” Installation. The installation is large white cylindrical structure that sits […]

Senior Scholars Go to Staten Island!

This Saturday, the Seniors, mentors Joelle and Richard, faculty Rachel, and MFA DT student volunteer Bridget traveled to Staten Island to conduct interviews for Sandy Storyline. We traveled around one […]

Senior Project with Sandy Storyline

Each spring, the Parsons Scholars seniors participate in a collaborative semester-long course in which they gain hands-on art and design skills while applying their lessons to meaningful projects that create […]

Welcome New Scholars and Happy First Day!

At the orientation for the new scholars, we welcomed them into the program with introductions of ourselves and the program and with a series of really fun icebreakers facilitated by […]

Joelle Riffle, Program Administrator

Joelle Riffle is a communication designer from Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Parsons School of Design with a BFA in communication design in 2013. Joelle has a range of professional […]