Project (a)Bridge
2015 Clinton Global Initiative award winner
ROLE: Co-Founder (November 2014)
ABOUT:
Project (a)Bridge focuses on promoting college readiness for first-generation minorities through an intensive summer curriculum and a mentorship program throughout high school. Upon inception, the Project was chosen to participate in the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative and invited to attend the annual Conference in Florida.
As co-founders, my project partner, Gopika Mavalankar and I aimed to narrow the gap for first-generation students who are less likely to attend a four-year university. The students that (a)Bridge targets are often the ones who are most likely to be unprepared for a college workload and have a much higher chance of dropping out of college.
APPROACH:
Project (a)Bridge tackles the achievement gap in two ways:
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Creating a support group that meets weekly to facilitate a learning atmosphere and a more accessible way to utilize resources like financial aid workshops, tutoring and scholarship programs
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Utilizing a dual-mentorship program that increases accountability and provides more guidance and support from outside the home.
Our support group was facilitated in low-income areas that traditionally underperform in San Diego, California. The program taught a free SAT bootcamp, led a holistic college mentorship program, and provided the resources to empower low income, first generation college students.
RESULTS:
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Collaborated with community leaders to put on 7 workshops including financial aid and scholarship
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Designed personalized assessments of college choices based on preferences, scores, grades
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Successfully made 100% of students college-bound and provided a long-lasting take-home binder of comprehensive materials including a Collegeboard SAT book, flashcards, custom worksheets, suggested schedule, and common formulas
