Summer Bridge Program Challenges Freshmen

Technology News, Volume 139, Number 2, September 11, 1995

by Susan Wells and Leondo Phifer

Web format and photo @ by Prof. P. Johnson

Before starting the IIT Summer Bridge Program, we thought, it's not possible to fit 14 weeks of schooling into just six weeks. We were soon to find out, though, that this assumption was wrong. The Bridge program was structured in a way that allowed us to tackle a diverse range of subject matter in a short period of time. In reality, we were like policemen trying to meet our quota. With such a rigorous work load, there was hardly any time for summer play. We attended two, sometimes three, classes a day. It seemed like almost every day we either had a test in precalculus or a presentation due for Jim, our Physics 100 instructor. In addition, we had to attend mandatory study sessions and mandatory field trips to places such as Argonne National Laboratory. We also had somemore light hearted field trips, including a Physics Day at Great America and a tour of BattleTech. Basically, our classes were no Joke, mainly because they reflected upon our actual grade point average. On behalf of all the Bridge participants we would like to thank Dr. Dellyannis, Dr. Zazi, Jim Karagiannes, all of the TA's and RA's,

Cheryl Caplan. Jerry Buster and especially, George Smith, for their continuous dedication to our enhancement of knowledge. But aside from the intense work and frustrating long hours, there proved to be many benefits derived from this program. One of the benefits is the fact that we executed one of the primary goals of Bridge: to learn how to work productively under intense situations. Not only did we learn to work long and productive hours, we also learned the importance of working in groups and not alone. Perhaps one of the most important benefits of the Bridge program is that it familiarized us with the IIT atmosphere and prepared us for our future endeavors. If you get a chance, check out our home pages on the internet at www.iit.edu/~iitnsf/bridge.html. NOTE: IlT's Summer Bridge program is funded by the National Science Foundation's Alliance for Minority Participation Coalition and several private foundations. Peter Johnson is the Principal Investigator for the IIT AMP partnership and Cheryl Caplan is the Program Coordinator. The Summer Bridge is a transition program which helps familiarize students with the campus environment and gives them a "jump start" on their academic career.

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