After graduating from high school and before heading off to college, Upward Bound students may take part in the summer Bridge Program. Taking place at the same time as the regular Upward Bound program, Bridge students participate in some of the same activities as the undergraduate students, including meals and Community Meeting, but Bridge students live in different housing and have different rules and responsibilities, more like the college experiences they will embark upon in the fall. The Bridge academic component consists of intensive course work in Composition and Art History. Both classes focus on writing and research skills, and students are awarded college credit in Composition through the University of Maine at Augusta upon successful completion of the program. Students have access to Bowdoin College facilities such as the library, art museum and the computer labs to aid them in their academic work.
Classes meet in the mornings.
During the afternoons, all Bridge students have a job either on campus or in the town of Brunswick. Students have an opportunity to indicate their preferences, and every effort is made to place them in positions within those fields. Last year's trip included stops in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. with visits to museums, historic sites, and cultural landmarks. This process generally takes place in the early spring of the senior year and consists of completing an application form as well as composing a statement about their reasons for wishing to attend the program. Bridge gave me a real hands-on experience with certain situations that I'm sure to face in the coming years.