Access Week 2025

The IamCollegebound: College Fair & Youth Summit, hosted for Pre-College Outreach and Upward Bound Math-Science high-school participants and friends, provides dynamic workshops, speakers, and trainings led by Rutgers undergraduates to aid in preparing students for college.

The 2025 summit will include a college fair inclusive of 20 institutions, interactive workshops led by community partners and Rutgers student organizations, and concluding with a student leadership day party.

Join Thrive Student Support Services for a one-hour workshop exploring the intersection of personal identity and professional presence. Focused on NACE Career Competencies like Self-Development and Professionalism, this session offers guided discussions, exercises, and self-reflection to help you articulate your skills and align them with your career goals. Gain practical strategies to show up authentically in interviews, internships, and networking, building confidence without compromising your identity or values.

The annual James Dickson Carr Lecture honors Rutgers' first African American graduate. Public intellectuals discuss diversity, access, and equity in open dialogue with the community. This year's lecture, On Creativity as Praxis, explores creativity's role in fostering equity and belonging in higher education. It highlights artistic and cultural contributions of underserved groups, examining creativity as a tool for challenging inequities, fostering growth, and creating spaces where all students can thrive.

Releasing the Masks We Wear: Identifying and Disrupting Emotional Labor in Leadership explores how emotional labor impacts leaders in higher education. Emotional labor, the regulation of emotions and prioritization of others' needs, can be hard to detect and manage, especially in environments emphasizing human connection. This workshop provides strategies to identify and disrupt these patterns, preventing burnout and fostering sustainable leadership practices that support personal well-being and student retention.

The Alumni Mixer will provide a space for Alumni and current students to engage and grow in the community. In the Connection Corner, participants will learn about PeopleGrove, our mentoring platform, sign up to receive or become a mentor, and visit the research presentations of our McNair Scholars and our Alumni Spotlight Exhibit - Excellence in Living Color. A culminating piece of the night will be "The Hall of Luminaries" highlighting alumni and awarding them for their contributions.

The Rutgers New Brunswick Progress Showcase highlights forward strides toward diversity goals. The day begins with a Progress Inventory overview, followed by a panel on the plan as a guidepost, not a finished product. A data equity walk connects student enrollment to post-graduate outcomes, with updates on current programs shared in thematic discussions. The day concludes in the progress gallery, showcasing initiatives implemented across Rutgers–New Brunswick through the Diversity Strategic Plan.

The Second Annual ACCESS Week Day of Engagement will occur on Friday, February 21^st from 10am until 1pm.  Participants will meet at the College Avenue Student Center in front of the Multipurpose Room at 9am and depart for their locations by 9:30am.  Sites where engagement will occur include the New Brunswick Free Public Library, Unity Square, and the College Avenue Church.