Building a strong foundation for academic and professional achievement
Our goal is for each Summer Bridge student to:
- Develop a peer group
- Earn the money they need for college
- Boost their math skills
- Meet mentors
- Solidify their vision of a career in the sciences or engineering
- Understand the importance of a supportive
community/study group - Learn to navigate at the University
- Link up with firms that will provide internships through
graduation and beyond - Learn what it is like to work in a corporate office setting
- Graduate with a B.S. in a STEM discipline
85% percent of all students who have successfully completed the Summer Bridge have graduated with a bachelor’s degree or are still enrolled at the University. Summer Bridge started with eight students in 1998 at BP. During summer 2007 there were 23 students at Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife, Alaska Interstate Construction LLC (AIC), Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc., CH2M Hill, ConocoPhillips, NANA/Colt Engineering, NANA/Dowl Engineers, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, Peak Oilfield Services Co., and VECO Alaska, Inc.
How the Summer Bridge component works
Summer Bridge is aimed at recent high school graduates who will be attending the University in the fall. The Summer Bridge was started at the University of Washington in the mid nineties as a way to mitigate some of the problems Indigenous students had due to poor math preparation as well as issues related to career awareness and transitioning to the University from rural communities. The University of Alaska adopted the Summer Bridge in 1998. The success of the Pre-College component has dramatically improved both the quality and the quantity of students applying for the Summer Bridge.
 |
During the Summer Bridge, new high school graduates live on UAA’s campus for nine weeks before their first year at the University. A typical weekday for students begins with an 8 a.m. calculus prep class. After the class, students then report to their intern jobs, where each student is paired with an engineer or scientist in their sponsor organization. Lunch is at noon and they are back to work at 1 p.m. At 5 p.m. the students return to the residence halls where they eat and then work collaboratively on calculus prep with peer mentors from the University Retention component until bedtime. Friday lunches are reserved for “brown bag” sessions with practicing professionals from the community explaining their jobs. On Friday night and Saturday, there are required group activities. Sundays are free time and the students mostly sleep or do laundry until 6 p.m. when the collaborative calculus prep study session starts.
Each student makes a presentation for the partners at the end of the summer. Students who successfully complete the program are awarded scholarship support. The pace of the summer is tough, but students enjoy it and rise to the challenge year after year.
