Double Discovery Celebrates 50 Years of Helping High School Students
Five decades ago, a pair of Columbia undergraduates recognized striking inequality in access to higher education, so Roger Lehecka (CC’67, GSAS’74) and Steven J. Weinberg (CC’66) sought to overcome this divide by exposing local high school students to the rigor of Columbia and engaging undergraduates with the surrounding community.
“You need to believe early in your high school years that there’s a point in being a good student and that this kind of effort will pay off,” said Lehecka, a scholarship student who went on to become Columbia College’s dean of students from 1979 to 1998. “We wanted to offer hope and opportunity to local high school students who otherwise would not have that academic support and encouragement.”
Double Discovery Center, as their program came to be called, grew to include classes, tutoring and mock interviews; assistance with college applications, financial aid forms and resumes—and much more. At the annual College Discovery Day, high school students follow undergraduate volunteers for a day of classes, ending with a pizza party.
The name Double Discovery highlights the fact that the program enriches both the Columbia undergraduates and the high school students. “Double Discovery Center has a mission that connects directly with the mission of Columbia College to both educate students and propel them to use that education as engaged and responsive citizens of their communities and of the world at large,” said College Dean James J. Valentini.
In September, Double Discovery celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala honoring Lehecka and his longtime friend, former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein (CC’67). Both men, who met in third grade and grew up in the same public housing project in Queens, received Double Discovery’s highest honor, the James P. Shenton Award for Excellence, named for the late Columbia history professor who helped create the program. The award recognized their role in improving education for low-income, often first-generation, college-bound New York City students.
Related: CU People: Lisa Herndon, Columbia News, Oct 19, 2015
The event at Low Library Rotunda raised $350,000 and officials took the opportunity to announce an anonymous gift of $2 million. Half will go towards the Freedom and Citizenship Program, a three-week summer residential program based on the College’s Core Curriculum and taught by professors from the American Studies program; the remainder will be used to broaden the center’s math and science programming.
High school graduation rates of students in the program greatly exceed citywide averages, and those who went on to college now number in the thousands. “You have all these talented Columbia students on campus. This program connects that talent to high school students who stand to gain the most from it,” said Double Discovery Executive Director Joseph A. Ayala (CC’94).
Over the years Double Discovery has forged partnerships that have contributed to its success: the higher education-focused Teagle Foundation funded the Freedom and Citizenship program; Morgan Stanley offers workshops on financial basics and career skills; the global investment firm Macquarie Group offers mentorships and summer paid internships; and the Pinkerton Foundation, which supports community-based programs in poor areas of New York City, has given general operating support as well as funding for SAT preparation courses and professional development.
In addition to Shenton (CC’49, GSAS’54), the gala paid tribute to late businessman and diplomat Arnold A. Saltzman (CC’36), whose expertise was essential in the federal grant application process. Lehecka and Weinberg had only a short time to write the proposal that launched the program. “We sacrificed our schoolwork that semester. I can say it was not my best academically,” said Lehecka. That first summer 160 students enrolled. The following year there were 300 students.
Double Discovery is now introducing new programs in science and technology, including a class to teach students coding. “We think it is valuable for the students to engage in current problems in science,” Ayala said. In general, he noted, young people who go through the program learn that education extends beyond the classroom and nurture higher expectations for themselves.
“Double Discovery has helped thousands of students over the last 50 years,” said Lehecka. “The program has changed lives and it continues to change lives. It’s too bad it’s still needed, but since it is, I’m glad it’s still there.”