Walking through NJIT’s green spaces and residence hall courtyards Labor Day week, it’s not uncommon to hear pockets of conversation burst to life among the campus’s bright-eyed freshman newcomers, often of the different roads they’ve traveled to begin their collegiate journeys here at the start of the fall semester.

Among them is Julia Lizik. A four-hour drive up I-95 with her mother from their home in Frederick, Maryland, was Lizik’s road to NJIT, though the reasons behind her arrival are part of a rather new academic experience at the university. 

Remora fishes are famed hitchhikers of the marine world, possessing high-powered suction disks on the back of their head for attaching themselves in torpedo-like fashion to larger hosts that can provide food and safety — from whales and sharks to boats and divers.

Come this fall semester, NJIT will welcome 1,375 freshmen to campus, an increase of 6% over last year and a university record to boot. NJIT also realized a record in the total number of freshman applications received, up 11% as compared to 2018, with 9,047 students seeking enrollment at the university.

Other best-ever figures include this year’s freshman class average SAT score of 1297 and average GPA of 3.60. Thirty-one percent of the students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class, 10 were valedictorians and 6 were salutatorians.

As part of its commitment to prepare students from the city of Newark for higher education, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has developed the Rising Scholars mentoring program, effective this fall semester. The program, a collaboration of the university’s Offices of Persistence (under Enrollment Management), Financial Aid and Dean of Students, will provide guidance in navigating the college experience, as well as paid employment through Federal Work-Study.

Like many young New Jersey commuters making the morning trek through the Lincoln Tunnel into New York City, Jenessey Amparo-Rosario Morel would shuffle through her phone’s music playlist to find familiar star names like Rihanna, Shakira and Jay-Z. However, for Morel, those particular popular artists would also become clients, and even her new boss, as she entered work for her first day of a three-month co-op role this past February. 

On a Saturday in late June, 12 surveying engineering technology (SET) students, one adjunct professor and one faculty professor — all from NJIT — headed to the lower lake in Newark’s Branch Brook Park. Outfitted with a 15-foot Jon boat and a range of high-tech equipment provided by SET industry partners, they were there on a very special mission: to determine the volume of water in the lake for possible future dredging, and measure the volume of algae in the lake for removal.

Starting your first year at college can be a whirlwind of emotions.  No matter if you’re coming from a different country or if you’re just coming from down the block, college life is bound to be a change in your life.

A full class load, joining clubs and organizations and making new friends can seem like a lot in the first week. But sit back and take a deep breath - NJIT has got your back! Here are some first week events to get you adjusted to your new life at NJIT:

Last year, a vision therapy device invented at NJIT with potential as a biomarker for concussion was recognized as “most innovative breakthrough” at the Augmented World Expo Europe.

Ants. Sure, most are harmless and inconspicuous. Though, there are always exceptions.

Army ants, bulldog ants and fire ants are a few living members of the family Formicidae that nature television viewers might recognize from any number of “World’s Deadliest” countdown shows that populate the airwaves these days. 

Behind his back, on two fingertips or with arms and legs extended. These are just some of the “tricks” employed by Kwame Sarfo while doing what for many can be a daunting, challenging and often punishing activity: the pushup.