JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – High school students may not be aware of a local program that offers them an opportunity to attend college-level seminars at the University of North Florida for free.
The Joe Berg Seminars are designed for outstanding high school students in our area, explained Dr. John Anderson, executive director of program.
The students are nominated by their school and have to take a pretty rigorous test to be accepted as a Joe Berg Scholar, said Anderson.
They then attend the seminars, which are offered a few times a month, at 7 p.m. on the University of North Florida campus.
“This is an experience scholars will not get in their regular high schools,” said Anderson.
The program is offered to Duval County high school students, but some students from St. Johns County have also participated, he explained.
It’s available to public and private high school students who must be nominated by their school in the fall of their sophomore year.
They will then take a qualifying exam in science or humanities. If they pass, they can attend seminars related to science or humanities.
They will graduate in the Spring of their senior year.
“Our program is one of only two left, that we know of, of more than 700 that existed throughout the U.S. and Canada in the mid-1960s,” said Anderson, who added that those who have graduated from the program say, “the Joe Berg experience played a pivotal role in their life, opening their eyes to opportunities and possibilities that they would have never known otherwise.”
The program always needs sponsors. If you would like to help its mission, you can donate by clicking here.
The Joe Berg Seminars are also hoping corporate sponsors will partner with it to fulfill its mission.