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Date April 8, 2026
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Providence-area students experience a slice of college life at Brown’s annual College Day

Designed to spark curiosity about college and future pathways, Brown’s annual program welcomed nearly 400 high schoolers from Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls to explore campus and join classes and workshops.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Michael Griffin, a guidance counselor at Providence’s Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, encourages students to start thinking about college early. He brings admissions staff into classrooms, meets with students, and helps them explore school websites, peruse viewbooks and connect with nearby college fairs.

Still, he says, those efforts only go so far. Nothing compares to stepping onto a university campus.

“Having a chance to visit a school and really experience it — to get a sense of a day in the life of a college student — is hugely important,” Griffin said. “Students can better understand what college might feel like and make more informed decisions about their future.”

That’s why Griffin was eager to bring his students to College Day at Brown University this year.

Now in its fifth year, the campus-wide event welcomes hundreds of local high schoolers to College Hill every spring. Organized by Brown’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform and the Office of the President, the annual program is designed to immerse teens in everyday college life. This year, nearly 400 students from 17 high schools across Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls participated on Wednesday, April 8. They explored campus, attended mini-classes and interacted with Brown students, staff and faculty, joining conversations on everything from admissions and student life to athletics and academics.

At its core, the goal of College Day is exposure — opening students’ eyes to the possibilities of a post-secondary education, said Aarav Sundaresh, assistant director for engagement and partnerships at the Annenberg Institute. 

Brown President Christina Paxson welcomes students during the morning ceremony.
Christina H. Paxson, president of Brown, welcomed high schoolers during the morning ceremony. 

“For many students, this is their first time on Brown’s campus, even if they’ve lived in Providence their whole lives,” Sundaresh said. “We want them to see the possibilities available to them, here and at other colleges, and to feel like they belong in spaces like this.” 

That sense of possibility can be transformative, educators say. At Providence’s Central High School, guidance counselors have brought students to College Day for the past three years, citing its impact in helping students see college as both realistic and attainable, according to counselor Carla Ricci.

“College Day is extremely influential in helping students picture college life,” Ricci said. “It makes college feel real rather than abstract, encourages them to see new possibilities, ask questions and take the next step toward their postsecondary plans. Exposure like this really inspires students and makes conversations about their future more tangible.”

Groups of high schoolers smile and take photos together, holding their red tshirts as part of the opening ceremony for College Day at Brown.
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Now in its fifth year, the campus-wide event welcomed nearly 400 high schoolers from 17 schools across Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls.

Groups of high schoolers find their campus ambassadors and begin tours across the campus green to see different parts of the College Hill campus.
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Led by campus ambassadors, each group received a curated, behind-the-scenes look at spaces across College Hill.

High schoolers walk together through the door of the building that houses Brown's Computer Science deptartment.
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Stops included the Annmary Brown Memorial, Planet Environmental Center, Brown Design Workshop, Lindemann Performing Arts Center and Rockefeller Library, among others.

High schoolers circle around a formula-one style car being designed and built by Brown engineering students.
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About 100 Brown community members volunteered to design and lead 30 interactive workshops introducing high schoolers to campus and academic life.

High schooles in a dim room, around a table with colorful candy try to sort candy by color.
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In “Inside the Mind: A Tour of Psychology Labs at Brown,” participants rotated through four interactive workshops, including one exploring vision science, where leaders altered the room’s lighting to test whether students could group candy by color based on perceptual cues.

A Brown staff member sits behind a table at the college fair talking to local students about Brown Summer High School.
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Organizers this year added a “college life fair,” where participants learned about student organizations, campus traditions and academic concentrations among Brown’s K-12 programs for local students.

Local teens post small art squares with quotes and colorful art that show reflections of their day.
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To close the day, students had an opportunity to reflect on what they learned by creating small art squares.

At the opening ceremony for the day held in Alumnae Hall, Brown President Christina H. Paxson welcomed students and echoed that same sentiment on the value of exploration, possibility and discovery.

“What I would encourage you to do is really explore and think broadly about what’s possible for you — there are so many opportunities you haven’t even imagined yet,” Paxson said. “As you’re on campus today, be curious and engaged. Ask questions. Talk to Brown students. Discover what you love so you can build a life that you love — that’s what makes college truly meaningful.”

A look at life and learning at Brown

A pivotal part of the program gives students the chance to experience a “mini-class,” designed to provide a taste of what a college classroom is like. Ahead of the event, students select the academic tracks they want to explore. This year’s options included the humanities; math, technology and engineering; physical and life sciences; social sciences and civic engagement; entrepreneurship and communications; and fine and performing arts.

Early in the day, students break into those track-based groups and fan out across campus, each following a sequence of stops tailored to their chosen field. Some groups head to labs, while others spend time in libraries, studios and academic spaces, taking part in games, experiments and workshops led by Brown faculty, staff and students. Hands-on lessons this year spanned a wide range of topics — from investigating how water exists on the Moon’s surface to composing a song, conserving fragile documents in a special collections library, and using fruit flies to study human disease.

In “Inside the Mind: A Tour of Psychology Labs at Brown,” participants rotated through four interactive workshops showing how researchers, including undergraduates, study canine cognition, vision science and child development. The goal was to reveal the breadth of psychology, and for Alexandra Sanchez, a sophomore at Providence’s Paul Cuffee School, it did just that.

“I didn’t realize how many directions psychology could take you,” Sanchez said. “I used to think it was mostly about studying the brain or becoming a therapist. This showed me there are so many different paths you can explore.”

The day is also designed to give students a broader sense of college life. Organizers this year added a “college life fair,” where participants learned about student organizations, campus traditions and academic concentrations. The fair also highlighted Brown’s K-12 programs for local students, including Brown Summer High School, Pre-College Programs, medical pathways initiatives and other internships and enrichment opportunities.

A local high school teacher stops to take a selfie with Bruno, Brown's mascot.
Throughout the day, students had a chance to learn more about life at Brown - from students, faculty and Brown's mascot, Bruno. 

By bringing more local students into those programs, College Day deepens Brown’s connections within the Providence and Rhode Island communities, Sundaresh said.

“Brown is an institution that’s part of the city, part of the community,” Sundaresh said. “There can be real and perceived barriers to stepping onto a campus like this, and we hope this experience helps break those down so students feel comfortable, included and inspired.”

After attending College Day, Nicole Lemire, a guidance counselor at Tolman High School in Pawtucket, hopes her students are motivated to explore more colleges and universities across New England. She said the timing of Brown’s annual event — just before Rhode Island’s April vacation — is ideal.

“A lot of our students haven’t visited a college campus yet, and today gives them that first glimpse,” Lemire said. “It shows them what a campus visit feels like and inspires them to explore other schools, plan additional visits and take those next steps on their college journey.”

Tags
Annenberg Institute Brown and Providence President

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