Highlights
Hello Bridge Experience Community!
The Bridge Experience Program is a collaborative group of faculty implementing bridge experiences in their undergraduate curricula. The group has monthly Community of Practice meetings and annual retreats. The stories below highlight the great work Virginia Tech academic programs are doing to launch their students into successful plans after graduation.
New Stories
As the Virginia Tech Bridge Experience Program enters year 3, the English and Food Science and Technology departments have implemented a bridge experience requirement for all incoming undergraduate students. A bridge experience is one that a student designates as likely to help them move into specific post-graduation plans. Typical bridge experiences include undergraduate research, internships, and other place-based experiences.
The Department of Biochemistry joined the Bridge Experience Program to improve student preparedness and to more effectively support a successful career launch for students upon graduation. Recognizing the diverse career aspirations of their students, the department sought to build on existing strengths in undergraduate research and develop more comprehensive experiential learning opportunities that align with individual student’s career goals. Early in the planning process, biochemistry developed student personas capturing common pathways that students take in the major.
The Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education has been actively engaged in the Bridge Experience Program, offering valuable resources to enhance student experiences. With a focus on creating open resources for faculty and setting up consistent communication touchpoints with students throughout the curriculum, ALCE aims to provide a comprehensive and supportive educational journey.
Bright spots
- Agricultural and Applied Economics: Hosted first annual career fair
- Agricultural, Leadership and Community Education: Developed open educational resources for introducing bridge experiences
- Architecture, Arts, and Design: Created a reflection and showcase course
- Biochemistry: Used student personas for curriculum mapping
- English and Food Science and Technology: First programs to implement bridge experiences
- Scaling Experiential Learning for Underserved Students: Bridge Experience Program featured on national webinar