About PUPP
Students are selected to apply to become a PUPP Scholar during the spring of their freshmen year of high school. PUPP currently partners directly with four high schools in the Mercer County, NJ region: Ewing High School, Lawrence High School, Nottingham High School (Hamilton, NJ), and Trenton Central High School. Students must attend one of our partner schools to be eligible for consideration.
PUPP nurtures the educational and personal development of students from lower-income families who are new to the world of higher education. Selection is prioritized for those who demonstrate academic potential and would be among the first generation in their family to attend a traditional, four-year college. Following a comprehensive and competitive application process, a selection committee from Princeton’s Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity makes the final selection of each cohort of PUPP Scholars.
Once selected, PUPP Scholars participate throughout the remainder of their high school career and into their collegiate years. Scholars complete three, intensive six-and-a-half week summer institutes at Princeton University and take part in school-year programming, including weekly after school academic enrichment sessions and a series of cultural excursions. PUPP works directly with students and their parents during their senior year of high school to provide guidance and support during the college admissions and financial aid process. PUPP alumni receive support with their transition to college and guidance throughout their collegiate career and beyond.
Mission
The Princeton University Preparatory Program is a highly engaged, holistic college preparation and success program that fosters the development of students from lower-income families who have less familiarity and experience with higher education. Our multi-year, tuition-free program prepares participants for admission to and success within selective colleges and universities, and beyond.
Through our work, we develop and nurture:
- Passion for learning and a commitment to academic pursuits;
- Individual perspectives through critical and creative thinking, readings, discussions, personal interactions, extra-curricular and life experiences;
- A breadth and depth of academic performances in writing, literature, social and natural sciences, mathematics and cultural arts;
- Leadership skills, self-esteem, intellectual courage, self-reliance, personal responsibility, wellness, and constructive relationship
- Personal responsibility for the PUPP community both within the program and among its constituents and partners; and Cross-cultural competence and understanding.
In the pursuit of this Mission, we are committed to providing an environment and program that will:
- Enhance the talents, strengths and interests that each student brings to the program;
- Establish and maintain rigorous academic, personal, and social principles;
- Forge mutually supportive partnerships among staff, students and their families;
- Engage students in a broad range of academic and cultural experiences;
- Collaborate with partner schools, community agencies, university personnel, and college access networks; and
- Provide students and their families with the information, resources, and guidance they need to be successful in their highest attainable and most compatible choices for post-secondary education and beyond.
History
In the summer of 2000, Miguel Centeno, Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, and Dr. John Webb, Director of Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation began discussions with university faculty and educators from three Central New Jersey school districts. Their goal was to create an intensive program to prepare high school students who have less familiarity and experience with higher education, including lower-income and first-generation students, to apply to and succeed within highly selective colleges and universities. The result of these discussions was the Princeton University Preparatory Program.
With support from the University and individual donors, PUPP welcomed its first class of rising high school sophomores from three local schools in 2001: Ewing High School, Princeton High School, and Trenton Central High School. Dr. Richard Carter, served as PUPP’s first Principal from 2001 to 2004 and Torey Wilson joined the PUPP team in 2002, serving as Assistant Principal and then Associate Director from 2002 to 2017. Together, Carter and Wilson built on the vision of Centeno and Webb to set standards for the first few Summer Institutes and developed academic enrichment sessions with graduate students from Princeton University’s English Department.
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PUPP graduated its first cohort of scholars in 2004. Adhering to the vision of the founders, the class of 2004 made their way to some of the finest institutions in the country, including Bryn Mawr, Richmond, Rutgers, Stevens, Syracuse, The College of New Jersey, Vassar and Princeton.
In July of 2004, Dr. Jason R. Klugman became Director of PUPP, and he has since worked to expand and deepen the program.
As PUPP developed throughout its first decade, the program continued to make improvements and adjustments to meet to varied needs of program participants, who became known as “PUPP Scholars” following a strategic planning process in 2008.
PUPP scholars participate in a six-and-a-half week summer institute on Princeton’s campus for three consecutive summers, starting the summer after their sophomore year. Each summer begins with a formal Opening Ceremony in the Princeton University Chapel where new scholars and families are welcomed to the community and returning scholars renew their commitments to their academic and collegiate goals. All scholars, teaching assistants, faculty, and staff participate in an annual leadership and community-building retreat at the Princeton Blairstown Center that involves trust-building activities and physical challenges that help scholars make the shift from their school year to the PUPP summer.
Summer Institute courses include art, writing, science, literature, math and the PUPP “college prep track” – personal development, test preparation and College Admissions 101. Scholars also participate in a four-part yoga and mindfulness course each summer and visit local colleges and universities, as well as cultural institutions in Philadelphia, New York City and in Central New Jersey.
During the school year, PUPP sophomores and juniors participate in weekly after school enrichment sessions, developing their critical communication skills: reading, writing, listening, thinking and speaking. PUPP Teaching Fellows, most of whom are Princeton graduate students, teach these sessions. PUPP seniors continue their college admissions course throughout their senior year, working on applications for admission, scholarship and financial aid, and beginning to prepare for their transition to undergraduate life. PUPP juniors and seniors also participate in test preparation courses.
Scholars also attend 6-7 theatrical performances each year, including performances at local and regional theater companies, Broadway, and an annual trip to a production by Opera Philadelphia at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music. Finally, PUPP juniors and seniors attend 3-4 day, overnight fall college tour, visiting a total of close to 30 colleges and universities throughout their time in the program.
Under Klugman’s leadership, PUPP has deepened its work with students and schools in the Mercer county area and developed a national profile as a model college preparation program. In 2006, with the support of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, PUPP convened a national working forum on the challenges of preparing low-income youth for selective college success. The resulting conference white paper, “Opening Doors and Paving the Way,” has been distributed to university leaders, admissions and college preparation professionals. A manual for developing programs like PUPP – an outgrowth of the forum and ten years of work at Princeton – is also now available.
After the strategic planning process in 2008, PUPP added two additional partner schools: Lawrence High School in Lawrence, NJ and Nottingham High School in Hamilton, NJ. Also under Klugman’s direction has been the addition of a full-time PUPP counselor to the staff who works with the scholars one-on-one throughout their high school career and during the summer institutes. The first PUPP counselor, Michael Hannon, worked from 2007-2010 to provide crucial one-on-one counseling and advising services to PUPP scholars and alumni. Personalized college counseling continues after high school graduation with a “Transition to College” workshop and extensive work with alumni to make sure that PUPP scholars have a basis of guidance and support throughout their college years as well. Mr. Hannon was succeeded by QuinnShauna Felder-Snipes after the 2010 Summer Institute.
Another innovation occurred in 2012, when Princeton alumni Rob and Alicia Lovelace provided support for the PUPP Alumni Fellowship – a 30-month, entry-level program assistant position that is focused on supporting PUPP alumni in college and beyond, as well as helping manage a variety of administrative and programmatic tasks. PUPP hired its first Alumni Fellow, Jackie Hernandez, from the PUPP Class of 2008.
In 2017, PUPP moved from the Program in Teacher Preparation to the Office of the Dean of the College in Princeton in order to create synergy around broader initiatives at the University supporting college opportunity and success for first generation and low-income students. As part of that re-organization, Quinnshauna Felder-Snipes became PUPP’s Assistant Director for College Counseling and Scholar Development and PUPP hired Anna Cabrera, a graduate of PUPP’s inaugural class of 2004, to serve as its first, full-time Program Coordinator.
More information about the various components of PUPP is available on various pages of this website.
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Staff
Jason R. Klugman
Director, College Preparation Initiatives
jklugman@princeton.edu
609-258-3337
609-986-5824
Dr. Klugman came to Princeton in 2004 to lead PUPP and served as a Lecturer and Program Associate in Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation from 2004 to 2017. He occasionally teaches in Princeton’s Department of Anthropology and he serves as an advisor to programs in Princeton’s Pace Center for Civic Engagement as well as an Academic-Athletic Fellow for the Princeton’s Men’s and Women’s Varsity Swimming and Diving Teams. He has presented at a range of professional and academic conferences about college access and success, urban education and teacher preparation. He is the recipient of the 2015 John B. Muir Editor’s Award from the National Association of College Admission Counseling for outstanding contribution to the Journal of College Admission. From 2001-2004, Jason was a high school history teacher at West Philadelphia High School and a leader in that school’s college and career guidance team. Jason earned his doctorate in Education, Culture and Society from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education where he also earned his M.A. in Secondary Education. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University.
Dawn M. Wilson
Senior Associate Director, College Preparation Initiatives
dawnmwilson@princeton.edu
609-986-5824
609-258-2706
Dawn M. Wilson has been a champion for college access for over 15 years, holding progressive leadership roles in college admissions and community and campus-based college access & success programs. In her work as Senior Associate Director of College Preparation Initiatives in the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity, she oversees the strategy, programming, and processes for scholar development, college admissions & financial aid, student transition, college success, and student wellness across EBCAO’s suite of college access programs: Princeton University Preparatory Program, Princeton Summer Journalism Program, Lydia’s Scholars Program, and the Greater Trenton College Access Network.
Prior to joining CPI, Dawn served as the inaugural Director of College Success for Cooperman College Scholars, where she supported the scholars on all points related to academic success, personal wellness, persistence, and retention. As a first generation graduate herself, Dawn embodies her personal ethos: “be who you needed when you were younger.” This sentiment fuels her work with students, allowing her to meet students where they are and aid in their “becoming”. Dawn takes great pride in having a living body of work—students whose lives have been changed by the work she has done.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Dawn is a proud product of the New Jersey public school system, having been educated there from elementary through graduate school. Dawn earned her Master’s in Counseling from The College of New Jersey, a PhD in counseling from Antioch University-New England and holds a New Jersey Associate License of Marriage and Family Therapy (LAMFT).
Tieisha Tift, M.S.
Associate Director, College Preparation Initiatives
tieisha@princeton.edu
609-258-0219
609-986-5824
Tieisha divides her time between the Princeton Summer Journalism Program (PSJP) and the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP). Tieisha supports PUPP sophomore and junior development and oversees strategic planning for all aspects of PSJP.
Tieisha is an alumna of PUPP, a Trenton, NJ native, and a first-generation college student. Before joining CPI, Tieisha worked in admissions and college advising. She earned her B.A. in Urban Studies with a special concentration in Education from Columbia University and her M.S. in Organizational Development and Leadership from St. Joseph’s University. As she embraces her auntie era, Tieisha enjoys traveling, listening to audiobooks, teaching herself new skills (she’s currently learning Spanish and working up to rock climbing), and falling asleep on the couch before 10pm while binge-watching 90’s sitcoms.
Anna R. Cabrera, M.A.
Assistant Director for Family Engagement, College Preparation Initiatives
a.cabrera@princeton.edu
609-258-3337
609-986-5824
Anna R. Cabrera serves as the Assistant Director for Family Engagement within the College Preparation Initiatives area of the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity.
From Trenton, NJ, part oF PUPP’s inaugural Cohort, and with a Master’s Degree in Education she brings a strong commitment to equity, collaboration, and student success. As an experienced administrator, she works closely with EBCAO families to support students’ educational journeys and build meaningful partnerships between home and school. With a background in program coordination and family engagement, her work centers on creating accessible, inclusive systems that help every student thrive.
Her perspective is deeply informed by her own experiences as a parent. She has a daughter currently completing her first year at a Mount Holyoke College and a son preparing to start middle school—giving her valuable insight into the unique challenges and milestones families face at every stage of education.
Outside of work, she enjoys traveling abroad with her husband and children, and finds balance by relaxing with a good book in a hammock by her pool with her three dogs Theo, Louis and Luca, beside her.
She believes in the power of connection, clear communication, and building trust to support long-term student growth and family engagement.
Holding true to her love of knowledge, a saying she holds dear to her heart is, “Nunca te acostaras sin saber una cosa mas./You will never go to bed without knowing one more thing.”
Francisco A. Pozo
Program Associate, College Preparation Initiatives
(609) 751-6398
Francisco A. Pozo serves as the Program Associate within the College Preparation Initiatives area of the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity.
With four years of experience in college access and student development, “Mr. P” is passionate about helping first-generation and underrepresented students navigate the college-going process. He advises PUPP scholars through college research, application strategy, essay development, financial aid, and the transition to college, while also supporting PUPP programming, workshops, and cohort engagement. Mr. P also has the pleasure of supporting PUPPP scholars beyond high school, providing continued advising and guidance as they matriculate into and navigate their undergraduate experiences, ensuring they remain connected to the support and resources they need to thrive throughout college.
Outside of work, Francisco enjoys spending time with family and friends, staying active, hiking, playing recreational sports, and golfing with his father. He is also an avid podcast listener, so asking what he has been listening to lately is an easy way to start a conversation with him.
Acknowledgements
Princeton University extends its gratitude to all of the donors who have generously supported various components of the Princeton University Preparatory Program since its inception in 2001. PUPP acknowledges the generosity of the following donors:
- Arun Alagappan ‘81
- William D. Birch Jr. ‘64
- Trent and Susan Carmichael in honor of Orin Lehman ‘42
- Ann Pao Chen ’89
- Evalyn Lee ‘83
- Lillian P. and Jon B. Lovelace ’50 P84
- Alicia C. Mińana de Lovelace ’84 and Robert W. Lovelace ’84
- Anahita Naficy Lovelace ’75 P08 and James B. Lovelace P08
- Ellen K. Pao ’91
- Bob Peck ’88
- Trish Perlmutter ‘85 P15 P17 and Tom Perlmutter ’85 P15 P17
- Mary Pao Seideman ’93
- Wade Rakes II ’02
- William C. Taylor ’81
- Armstrong Family Foundation
- Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
- Penguin Random House
- The Goldman Sachs Foundation
- The Hope and Norman Hope Foundation
- The Independent College Fund of New Jersey
- The JL Foundation
- The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies
- The Petrucci Family Foundation
- The Princeton Review
- Roger S. Firestone Family Foundation
- The Scheide Fund
- Verizon Foundation
- Class of 1981
- Class of 1985