Ten incoming freshmen and their families got a warm welcome to the BRIDGES program that began with a hot lunch at the Kent Student Center.
An all-female group is participating in the five-week academic Bootcamp, nicknamed “The 10th Power” by Diversity Outreach and Development Director Daniel Diaz Nilsson, to reflect their total number and scholarly potential.
“I believe the BRIDGES program will help these women realize and use their power to make a life-altering positive impact on themselves, each other, 91ֿ, and the communities they will engage with in the future, said Nilsson.”
In its sixth year, the BRIDGES Summer Program targets incoming first-year students from historically under-represented and first-generation groups searching for a degree in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services.
In addition to Nilsson, other speakers at the welcoming ceremony included James Hannon, dean for the College of EHHS; Alicia Crowe, professor and associate dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Services; Lisa Testa and Francisco L. Torres, professors in the School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies; Graduate Assistants Jessica Boling and Madison Cameron-Brown; and Tutor Mentors Ari Kemp, Cady Newman, and Clare Kemple.
BRIDGES participants begin each day with morning motivation followed by KSU courses in professional literacy and mathematics. After lunch, students participate in success workshops centered on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and mandatory study sessions with tutors.
The program culminates with a celebration ceremony on July 15. Find more information about the EHHS Bridges program.