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One afternoon as I was grocery shopping with my mom when I got a call from an unknown number. Seeing the location was in Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, I had a feeling I should answer. The voice on the other end was explaining to me how I had been chosen to do this program called Bridges. Everything he was explaining seemed unrealistic, and quite frankly, too good to be true. I found myself agreeing to this program without even consulting my family because I was overwhelmed with so much excitement.

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In June of 2017, a short month after graduating high school, I was packing my bags to move into a residence hall and begin this new journey of being a Bridges Scholar at Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State University. For me, school never came easy. I had to work a little harder and push myself a little further to keep up with my peers. Due to this, college seemed daunting, but I knew I had to go and knowing that this program was based around students like me, made a world of difference.

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Upon starting Bridges, I felt that my needs were catered to by the schedule set for me and my fellow scholars. Our mornings would begin with morning motivation which used many different sources of enthusiasm and ambition. From this, we went straight to our writing course with Dr. Lisa Testa. The writing course was a place where I blossomed. I felt comfortable and because of that, I created some amazing work. After our writing course, we raced across campus to attend our math courses.

After this, we had a break where most people ate lunch or attempted to gain the sleep that they missed from the night before. After this break, we went to our success workshops. These workshops were filled with visiting speakers, tips, goal setting, laughs and even tears at some points. When the success workshops ended, we had a break for dinner and then went to study hours. Study hours allowed us the opportunity to have our tutor mentors there to work with us on how to study and complete our homework. When study hours were over, everyone went back to the lounge in our resident hall and continued homework while chatting and bonding as a group. 

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A day as a Bridges Scholar felt like an academic boot camp because it honestly was. There were times where I wanted to give up, but because of this I grew so much. Not only did I grow as a student but also as a human being. I gained so much confidence in myself, and for that I am forever grateful. Bridges allowed me to gain every tool I needed to succeed academically. By using these tools, I was able to succeed in my classes (which was something I wasn’t used to since school always came harder to me). 

My message to anyone considering Bridges is simply- do it. This has been one of the most meaningful, amazing things to ever touch my life. I grew so much in this program and learned so much about myself that I was completely unaware of before. Bridges is the sole reason I am still in college and succeeding as a student. 

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Learn more about the Bridges Summer Program

Written by Human Development & Family Studies senior Marissa Trubatch