Spotlight Program – BRIDGE (Building Relationships in Diverse Gonzaga Environments)

With the BRIDGE (Building Relationships in Diverse Gonzaga Environments) Pre-Orientation program going into its thirteenth year, it is clear that it has become engrained into generations of incoming students’ hearts and experiences here at Gonzaga University. With each new year, the BRIDGE program welcomes a new class of students and their families to Gonzaga. The goal of BRIDGE is to provide these students with support and guidance to jumpstart their journey at GU and empower parents with the peace of mind that there are people looking out for their student’s best interests, while they are away at college. The BRIDGE program was created with students of color and first generation college students, in mind. Although it is open to students of all backgrounds, in its founding, BRIDGE sought to provide students who may have a more difficult time transitioning to college, with the resources to ensure that the transition process goes as smoothly as possible. BRIDGE understands that the adjustment to a completely new environment, like college, is difficult for anyone, but for students with marginalized identities, the transition may be more difficult. The program exists to create an inclusive and understanding environment for our students, value their individual experiences and connect them with people who will join them on their journey at GU and who will provide encouragement along the way.

During the week of BRIDGE, the program strives to set up stepping stones students can utilize throughout the year and inform parents about the support network that their student has available at Gonzaga. From academic to social resources, and lots in between, BRIDGE strives to establish the holistic support network that college students need. Students get to know the campus a week before other students arrive, are introduced to staff, faculty and administration, and go through a series of activities to build community with their cohort and student counselors. Their jam packed schedule is specially designed for students to become more accustomed to the university and find a community that supports them. The BRIDGE parent program takes place alongside the student program and assists parents and families with the transition process, knowing that this experience is not only hard for students, but parents and families, as well. Tailored specifically for those who may be unfamiliar with the college experience, the parent program aims at effectively informing new families about Gonzaga, what it has to offer its students, and providing a time and place to join together with others who are also going through the letting go process. This way, parents and families know their students will be in good hands.

The BRIDGE coordinators this year are both alumni of the program. These juniors went through the program together as freshmen, and are now back to provide incoming students with the same support that they received two years ago. At the beginning of the summer, the BRIDGE coordinators developed a mission statement that will underline the driving foundation of this year’s BRIDGE. Our mission states: “BRIDGE is designed for underrepresented students to begin to explore and embrace their intersecting identities, in solidarity and support with one another. The BRIDGE program strives to create an understanding community where students learn to navigate the academic and social environments of GU while creating lasting bonds together.” This mission statement was built from their personal understanding and experience with the program. With this mission statement in mind, the BCORE team has been hard at work, planning a program that will be as meaningful to the incoming students as BRIDGE was for them.

Rafael Castellanos-Welsh, a marketing and international business student, was planning on attending a different university during his senior year of high school. However, on his visit to Gonzaga during GEL weekend, Rafael met two BRIDGE alumni and counselors who exuded excitement and a deep passion for the program. Their welcoming demeanor reassured Rafael that he would find a family and a community who would welcome him with opened arms. After meeting these two BRIDGE alumni, Rafael decided to come to GU, and take part in the BRIDGE program. The transition was extremely intimidating to Rafael, who could have taken an easier route by staying with all his friends at the local university. However, he knew that his decision to come to Gonzaga was not in vain, just three weeks after school began, on his birthday. With so little time between his birthday and school beginning, Rafael had zero expectations for any sort of celebration. Much to his surprise, almost all of his BRIDGE class and counselors came together and threw a surprise birthday party for him. At this moment, he felt entirely welcomed and that he found his community at Gonzaga. What the BRIDGE alumni, Emmanuel Lopez, said to Rafael during GEL weekend was not a lie, he was welcomed with open arms to GU.

Trang Tran, a sociology and English double major, came to Gonzaga with a lot of anxiety and was unsure that GU would be the right fit for her. She often feared that she would not have common ground with the student population and was afraid of feeling alienated in the new landscape of college. Her hometown demographics were vastly different from GU. The east side of Tacoma, where she grew up, was predominantly people of color, with high poverty and crime rates. She, along with many of her peers, had parents who never went to college, and so the prospect of attending a university, for many, was more like a dream. The social pressures, along with the unease she felt when thinking of university academics, made college feel like a massive beast that seemed impossible to overcome. BRIDGE helped to ease these fears. Being surrounded by people who shared similar experiences and anxieties, along with upperclassmen who were there for her and took her under their wings and, ultimately, being encouraged to embrace and be proud of her roots, Trang found a home and a refuge at Gonzaga that she never expected to find. The week of BRIDGE nurtured a community at Gonzaga so that when Trang walked down Bulldog ally, she’d always see a smiling face, when she walked into the cafeteria, she would always have a place to sit and when the year was over, she could not wait to give back to the program that helped her make a home out of a once daunting place.

With the BRIDGE Pre-Orientation program going into its thirteenth year, Rafael and Trang cannot wait to make this year as great as the twelve years before it. When the question, “What is BRIDGE?” arises, the answer cannot be more difficult. It’s more than just a pre-orientation program. It’s more than the week that students spend a week before orientation. BRIDGE means something different to everyone who participates in the program. To some, BRIDGE helped them ask questions they did not know they had. For others, BRIDGE allowed them to embrace their identity. For most, BRIDGE is a community they entered into Gonzaga with and could not imagine living without.