In any college student population, some first-year students will inevitably face more significant challenges than others in transitioning from high school to a university or college setting. For such Schreyer Scholars, a bridge is in place to help ease that passage; the Summer Bridge program.
Dr. Lynette Yarger, the Honors College’s assistant dean for equity and inclusion and professor of information sciences and technology, has led Summer Bridge since its inception in 2021. She sees the program as providing Scholars with a sense of groundedness essential for navigating the University.
“First and foremost, it helps students see that there are a wide variety of resources, be they human beings, units on campus, or staff here at the Honors College, that are all invested in their success,” Yarger said. “With that established, we can kind of chart a pathway thinking about their end goal, their ‘why,’ and what success looks like. Then they understand how to tap into those resources along the way to help them have the experience they want that ultimately gets them where they want to go.”
Summer Bridge is a part of Penn State’s broader Learning Edge Academic Program (LEAP) that takes place over six weeks each summer. While LEAP is available to any Penn State student at University Park, Summer Bridge is an invitation- only program. Its design aims to help Scholars who, according to Yarger, may come from families with below-median income and attend school districts with fewer resources, students who have been historically underrepresented based on race or ethnicity, and first-generation college students.
“[Summer Bridge] is fully paid, so it’s an investment in students who add to the diversity of our College,” Yarger said. “The idea is doing everything we can to make these Scholars feel a stronger sense of belonging to Schreyer and Penn State in general, and give them confidence that they can do the work.”
The program includes two paired courses, one on living, learning, and leading as a Scholar and one on diversity in STEM, that allow participants to enter their first fall semester with six credits to their name. Participants’ days also include mentorship from fellow Scholars, social events and outings, and mandatory study times. Two participants from the inaugural Summer Bridge in 2021, Giselle Concepcion and Cris Kocian, had such a positive experience that they decided to serve as mentors in summer 2022.
“I genuinely feel the program adds tremendous value to the Penn State experience,” said Concepcion. “For me as a mentor, working to cultivate a welcoming experience for Scholars has allowed me to realize the benefits that sharing my story can have for others and the importance of a built-in support system in a new environment.”
“Schreyer’s Summer Bridge program and all it has to offer has definitely contributed to my success so far and is too good of an opportunity to pass up,” Kocian added. “I really enjoyed my role as a mentor and realized that it was just as rewarding of an experience as being a Scholar in Summer Bridge.”
With two Summer Bridges completed, Yarger is beginning to think about opportunities for growth and expansion.
“Perhaps thinking about how to take this curriculum that we offer over six weeks in the summer and spread it out as a f irst-year experience,” she said. “I think it would be helpful to continuously touch base with Summer Bridge Scholars while they’re going through their first semester.”
