Pre-College 40th Anniversary Alumni Profile: LaTosha Wilson Is in Event Services at NJIT

“I was afraid of numbers, so this was the opportunity to get some extra training, get some extra help over the summer,” said LaTosha Wilson of her participation in pre-college programs at NJIT. “It was a chance to keep me focused.”

Her mother, then a secretary for the university’s Office of Sponsored Research Administration, enrolled Wilson in both math and laboratory science classes provided by the Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP). Wilson spent two summers during her middle school years on the NJIT campus, taking in the college atmosphere and overcoming her anxiety over arithmetic.

“That first summer I conquered fear of any type of learning, because I was taught here ‘you can do it,’” she recalled, describing the experience as life-changing and giving a shout out to Rosa Cano, CPCP’s associate director of student programs, and Sandy Moore, architecture faculty member, who “left an indelible mark” on her life.

Wilson is not only an alumna of CPCP, but of NJIT as well. She graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in science and technology and now serves as associate director of campus reservations and operations in the university’s office of Strategic Events and Conference Services, where she handles the majority of campus-space reservations for students and staff, as well as daily operational tasks.

“I kind of came here and never left,” she said with a laugh.

Appreciating the positive impact of the center, Wilson sent her two daughters to CPCP summer programs while they, too, were in middle school. Both followed in her footsteps again later by becoming pre-college teaching assistants. (Wilson was also a coordinator for CPCP’s FEMME program her first year after finishing NJIT.)

Pre-college education offers a valuable preview of college and vital preparation for higher education, Wilson says. “It gives you the extra boost,” she remarked, then added, “I remember feeling more mature and grown up. I was on a college campus … when to me college felt as if it was a dream and it wouldn’t be a reality for me.”        

Fondest memory of CPCP:  “I have a friend today. … I met her my first year. We are still friends today.”

The Center for Pre-College Programs was established in 1979 in order to increase access to scientific and technological fields among traditionally underrepresented populations and to improve the teaching of science and mathematics in secondary and elementary schools. CPCP serves more than 3,000 students and their teachers annually through a variety of programs.