Oxbridge Academic Programs - The Cambridge Prep Experience

Dear Students, Parents and Teachers,

I am pleased to welcome you to the fifteenth year of The Cambridge Prep Experience, hosted in Peterhouse, the oldest college in Cambridge. Imagine living in beautiful surroundings, amidst the Gothic grandeur of the college’s historic architecture and next to the classical splendor of the Fitzwilliam Museum. Imagine exploring such fascinating subjects as Creative Writing,
Molecular Biology, or Philosophy while making new friends from all over the United States, as well as from many other countries. This is an experience that will remain part of who you are long after you’ve returned home.

The Cambridge Prep Experience is designed for students completing the 8th and 9th grades – an age group that I have loved working with over the years, and which I believe can benefit immeasurably from this opportunity. I look forward to making the intellectual and cultural riches of Cambridge accessible to our students so those riches can thrill and inspire every participant just as they have thrilled and inspired me.

The faculty who will teach you are experts in their fields and will challenge you in ways that are not possible in your school back home. Whether it’s a class activity, a tour around town, or a field trip, everything you do will be engaging and exciting: a learning experience that will truly change the way you see the world.

I’m proud to further Jim Basker’s vision of a diverse and lively student body interacting with committed scholars and creative professionals. Here in beautiful and historic Cambridge, I know you will gain the self-confidence to stretch your intellectual goals in high school, and you may discover subjects that you will pursue for the rest of your life.

I hope you will take a moment to read through this brochure and recognize
the opportunities, adventure, and potentially life-changing experience that The
Cambridge Prep Experience offers. If you come to join us in Cambridge, you
will immediately realize how truly rewarding a summer can be.

Sincerely,

Greg Gonzalez
Director

Greg was the founding Director of La Academia de España, after having served as a Dean on The Cambridge Tradition. He returns to Cambridge this year, for his fifth summer with Oxbridge. Greg earned both his BA in History and his MA in Journalism at Columbia University. He was a sports writer for the LA Times for over seven years and freelanced for the New York Daily News and the National Sports Daily. He transitioned into teaching in 1991, as an English and History teacher at Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Montebello, California, where he was also the Athletic Director. He is currently at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles where he has been an academic dean and History teacher for over 10 years. He has won the Garrett Harden Teaching Award at Harvard-Westlake and was Varsity Head Football Coach for three years. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters.