Program Overview

The SOU Bridge Program

Building Community & Resiliency for Underrepresented Students

The SOU Bridge program provides resources to underrepresented students, enabling them to create successful lives of purpose. This unique first-year experience is at the forefront of the movement to support underrepresented students, offering peer mentoring, academic resources, and leadership training.

Program Details

• The program embraces creativity and innovation, allowing Bridge students who complete their first year to act as mentors for future students, providing another level of support for underrepresented students.
• The Bridge program is serving an expanded number of students, with 83 enrolled in 2021, 103 enrolled in 2022, and 58% of these students being first-generation students.
• As of the winter 2023 term, 218 Bridge students are enrolled, and 21 seniors are on track for graduation, representing an 86% increase in graduating Bridge students since 2018.

Student Stories

Bernice Petit, Class of 2024

Bernice Petit is a Senior at SOU, double majoring in Chemistry and Criminal Justice with a minor in Biology and Psychology. The Bridge Program has given Bernice the resources she needed to succeed in academic life, and by participating, she has also found community, friendship, connection, and understanding with her first-year cohort of peers.

Chloe Fiveash, Bridge Mentor, Class of 2025

Chloe Fiveash is a third-year Biochemistry major with a minor in Biology. The Bridge program helped Chloe make sure her financial aid was in place, allowing her to focus on her academic studies and transition to college life. She is now a mentor in the program and a McNair Scholar, working in the Government Relations office, where she drafted a bill commemorating SOU's 150th anniversary.

Program Impact

• The Bridge program has given students like Bernice and Chloe the resources they needed to succeed in academic life, providing community, friendship, connection, and understanding.
• The program has helped students overcome barriers, with an 86% increase in graduating Bridge students since 2018.
• The Bridge program has provided students with opportunities for academic advancement, leadership training, and personal growth, empowering them to become engaged citizens in our democracy.