Early College Experience

When Husky Sport first began in 2003, our primary engagement within the Hartford community was with elementary school students. As the years passed, we have been fortunate enough to grow our community partnerships and programming. At the same time, the young people we came to know so well also grew up to express newfound interests and challenges.

In collaboration with neighborhood leaders, partners, families, and students, Husky Sport decided to form a program designed around the wants and needs of these young adults. From there, a regular crew of high school and college age students began to meet on a weekly basis. In 2009, the ‘Teens’ program was founded, a cohort of young adults and mentors were formed, and the pillars of Husky Sport’s mission evolved along with the lives of its community members.

From these regular meetings, there was still a desire to incorporate more of an academic emphasis, and also connect these high school students to Husky Sport’s programming in the elementary schools through service learning.  Husky Sport forged a relationship with the Early College Experience office at UConn, and began to offer academic instruction through a formal UConn accredited course offered at Capital Preparatory High School (Hartford, CT) and East Catholic High School (Manchester, CT).  The course offered is EKIN1160: Health and Education in Urban Communities, which is also taught at UConn. Students attend class once per week and are expected to complete at least 4 service trips. This course serves to fill a missing link between the UConn students and younger Hartford students, who the Capital Prep and East Catholic students will engage with during their service hours with Husky Sport.

Points of emphasis in EKIN 1160 are:

  • Health and wealth in America
  • School and learning experiences across communities
  • Educational reform
  • Discussions on race, education, health, inequality and social economic status
  • Mentor/mentee relationships
  • The impact of sport, physical activity and nutrition
  • Consistent UConn presence and student development