Program a 'bridge' for freshmen

Matthew Meyerhofer

News Staff Writer

Coming from another state and being the first generation in her family to go to college, freshman Victoria Soto was apprehensive upon first arriving at Santa Clara.

"I was scared to come from New Mexico. I was afraid that I wasn't going to have anything to do on the weekends because I thought everyone went home. I was afraid that I wasn't going to know anyone."

Soto was one of 30 freshmen who participated in the first Santa Clara Summer Bridge Program, a system designed to help first-generation college students make the transition to higher education.

Students in the program participate in a two-week environmental science seminar to prepare them for college level science work. They also get a head start on English composition classes, which continue to meet throughout the quarter.

In addition to beginning classes early, students could attend workshops on topics such as study skills and academic requirements in the afternoons and evenings. Other opportunities included social activities ranging from going to a ropes course to spending a day in San Francisco.

"It was a little lonely at first," confessed freshman Ramona Noriega, another participant in the Bridge Program. However, all of that changed within a couple of days.

"I think it was when we had our group sessions. We had to tell a brief story about our own life, and each person had to say something personal," Noriega said. "We found out we had a lot in common, and after that we started hanging out a lot."

According to some students, there was also a little apprehension about how the classes would go.

"I will always remember the first day of class, the day we met our English professor. We were definitely nervous, since we didn't know what was about to happen," Mariz said.

But the classes turned out to be more interesting and more enjoyable than some of the students had expected.

"We really liked English," Soto said. "That was one of the most fun classes I had because we related to a lot of the readings." Madriz and Soto both had English professor Eileen Elrod for their English 1 class.

Elrod said she was particularly impressed with the students participating in the program.

"They are a phenomenal group of students in terms of their hard work," Elrod said. "Their commitment to their own success is inspiring for me as a teacher. I had a blast."

Elrod has worked with first-generation college students before during her time teaching at the University of California, Davis. She said the Bridge Program offers first-generation a chance to build strong relationships.

"They have an extraordinary support system they've created for each other," said Elrod.

The students also spoke very favorably of the program's coordinators.

"They made me feel so at home and so welcome. It made me really enthusiastic," Soto said.

According to Erin Kimura, learning resources coordinator in the Drahmann Center and project manager for the Center for Multicultural Learning, Santa Clara developed the Bridge Program in response to the concern for transition of first-generation college students.

"There was this interest in looking at what these first-generation college students needed to become successful students at SCU," Kimura said.

The program emphasized building academic communities, and the aim was to help these students with their integration into such communities at Santa Clara.

"There is this new awareness that first-generation college students have some significant challenges in coming to college," Kimura explained. "They don't have family members who can tell them what college is like."

The Summer Bridge program was built after examining similar programs at Mission College and the University of La Verne, and consulting focus groups of first-generation college students at Santa Clara.

While the program's first session is still under formal evaluation, Kimura believes it was largely successful.

"[The participants] feel like it's made a big difference in their lives," Kimura said. "They feel more comfortable on campus."

Pablo Madriz, one of the freshmen who participated in the program, said it is a great resource for students.

"Even though it was still summer, we got the chance to meet some of the upperclassmen that have become a source of inspiration to us today," Madriz said. "I really appreciate that opportunity. The academic support we received, and are still receiving, from our professors and directors are just awesome."

The program is funded through an Irvine Grant, which gives Santa Clara the money to support the system for three years. The money provided by the grant was only sufficient for 22 students this year, so the president's office contributed money to allow eight more students to participate.

Ways to keep the program funded are still being explored by the Drahmann Center and the Center for Multicultural Learning.

"Ideally, we hope this is something that the university will decide to fund in the future," Kimura said. "It's a lot more stable that way."

The Summer Bridge Program is a part of the new Leadership Excellence and Academic Development program that began last June after Santa Clara received the Irvine Grant. The LEAD program is the umbrella for three new programs geared toward first-generation college students and students of color at Santa Clara.

Other LEAD programs include the First Generation Orientation and the Family Engagement programs. These programs are intended to make first-generation students and their families feel more welcome at Santa Clara.

"We're trying to reach out and let [first-generation parents] know we're here for them as well," Rosa Guerra-Sarabia, LEAD programs coordinator, said.

û Contact Matthew Meyerhofer at (408) 554-4546 or mmeyerhofer@scu.edu.