Summer Bridge Program is Underway
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2004
CONTACT: Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Summer Bridge Underway
The Summer Bridge Program for 180 first-time students at California State University, Chico is underway. The five-day session, sponsored by the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), helps students make a successful transition from high school to college.
The intensive program started on Tuesday, June 22, and will end on Saturday, June 26. Students connect with faculty and staff and other first-time students like themselves. They have opportunities to enhance decision making, gain study skills and learn about other strategies for a successful first year in college. The program is based on documentation that a successful first year sets the stage for long-term educational success.
Many Summer Bridge participants are first-generation college students, and this is their introduction to what can be expected from college life. All of them have been accepted to the university and are ready to start classes in the fall. Many of them have taken part in other programs such as Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search and the Independent Living Skills program.
Half of the participants come from CSU, Chico’s service area, from Marysville and Yuba City to Weed. Others come from cities and small towns from all parts of California, including Sacramento, Concord, Daly City and Thousand Oaks.
The theme of Summer Bridge is “Your Success Depends on You.” Presentations and activities are geared toward accomplishing four things: Developing a sense of family among fellow students and the EOP staff; providing information for a successful transition to college; helping take care of basic requirements such as financial aid, housing and classes; and acquainting them with a freshman orientation class most of them will take in the fall.
Summer Bridge, in some form, has existed since the late 1970s. For more information about EOP programs, contact Miguel Sahagun, EOP Coordinator of Admissions, 530-898-4028.
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