Summer STEM program increases first-year UC student success

In weekly virtual visits with the program’s corporate sponsors, students engaged with STEM professionals and received information on potential co-op and post-graduation employment opportunities with Siemens, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Ethicon, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Marathon Petroleum, and the UC 1819 Innovation Hub. 

Sophomore scholars who completed the bridge program last year hosted weekly college readiness sessions to introduce the incoming students to resources that would assist them in their first year and to share funding and professional development opportunities. Teaching assistants held virtual study tables and game nights.

The goal is to build a community of learners who can help each other navigate the science and engineering curriculum. 

Ashantia Collins, program coordinator for the STEM Summer Bridge Program and special events in the the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement in the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science, hopes the students can enter their first semester more confidently with the skills and knowledge they developed through the program. 

“To the 2020 cohort, I know you will succeed because you have already shown your dedication to yourself by completing this program,” Collins said. “It's only up from here.”

The 2020 cohort consisted of 21 College of Engineering and Applied Science students, 14 College of Arts and Sciences students and 9 College of Allied Health Sciences students. 

This summer was the first time Collins, who started at UC in December 2019, had coordinated the program, which was offered entirely online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I could not have imagined the changes that the summer bridge program would endure,” said Collins. “I would like to thank the instructors, parents, and staff members who worked with me to make the program the best it could be.”

The STEM Summer Bridge program is one of many programs offered by the College of Engineering and Applied Science that helps students successfully transition to UC and maintain their course to a degree in science or engineering.

The office strives to empower individuals to transform their lives and achieve their highest potential by offering programs, services and scholarships that will enhance learning and lead to their success.