This year’s Summer Bridge Program—which helps first-year students smoothly transition to college, and was generously funded by the Aronson Family Foundation—was an unmitigated success on all counts. Over 1,300 incoming first-year students signed up for the program (with 51 percent of the students identifying as Latinx) and 25 professors participated in the events. The program took place from August 16 through August 24, over seven days, with both asynchronous and synchronous options available to fit students’ busy schedules. “We knew we had to prepare students to navigate the fall semester on all modalities—in-person, hybrid, and online,” says Nancy Yang, Associate Director of First Year Programs. “The Summer Bridge Program helped students connect with their classmates, Peer Success Coaches, and First-Year Program staff. We introduced the students to in-person and online campus resources, and we kickstarted their exploration of justice in our ‘From Justice Talk to Justice Walk’ event series.” Students also had the opportunity to improve their technological skills on platforms such as Blackboard, Slack, and Zoom, with “gamified” digital activities and fun raffle prizes. In this “Summer Bridge Success” article series, we connected with students who attended the program to learn more about their first-year, summer-to-fall transition.
“Thanks to Summer Bridge, I have more confidence in myself.” —Dynet Sulimani
Like many first-year students beginning their college experience, Dynet Sulimani ’25, a Criminal Justice major from Mount Vernon, New York, felt a bit anxious about the challenges she might face in a new academic environment. She wondered if she was mentally prepared for all the changes and if she could handle the new workload. With the help of the Summer Bridge Program, Sulimani learned that she could handle all the work and she mastered the concept of “growth mindset,” which allowed her to envision surmounting any challenge ahead of her. “I feel that the Summer Bridge Program really helped prepare me mentally for the college environment. Becoming familiar with the College and its resources, and my fellow students and professors really helped soothe the nerves and doubts I had coming into this first semester,” says Sulimani. “I know now that having a growth mindset is the key to success. It changes how you view challenges, how you view your abilities, and how you handle things. Thanks to Summer Bridge, I have more confidence in myself, and I’m looking forward to what I know will be a successful and incredible future for me at John Jay.” Sulimani shares with us her thoughts on the Summer Bridge experience.
What drew you to John Jay College?
I wanted to expand my knowledge about law and justice, and the different ways I could help implement justice in today’s society. My hope is to choose a career path that gives me the opportunity to fix injustice around the world and I believe attending John Jay is the best place to help me achieve this goal.
“A growth mindset means you know that your skills and intelligence can continue to grow and expand, even in the face of adversity and challenges.” —Dynet Sulimani
What key information did you learn from the Summer Bridge Program that you believe will benefit you throughout your journey at John Jay?
One of the major things I learned from the Summer Bridge Program was the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A growth mindset means you know that your skills and intelligence can continue to grow and expand, even in the face of adversity and challenges. While a fixed mindset means you believe that your abilities and intelligence are limited and that you see challenges or failure as a dead end. I realized during Summer Bridge that I had a fixed mindset and I wanted to change that. So, I promised myself to always push forward, to continue to learn, and grow as a person.
Can you describe what it was like interacting with your peers and faculty before classes started?
For the first few Zoom meetings, I was anxious. I was nervous to speak and interact during the Zoom calls, but throughout the course of the seven days in Summer Bridge, I started to get more comfortable. I found that I was truly enjoying the experience and learning so much. I especially loved meeting other first-year students and the John Jay faculty and staff.
What were some surprises, touching moments, or funny stories you experienced during the Summer Bridge Program?
One moment from the program that really stuck with me was hearing a fellow student talk about being the first in her family to go to college. She told us that she just wants to make her family proud by coming to college, graduating with a degree, and getting a job that will financially help her family. She’s so dedicated to her family and seeing how determined she is to succeed at John Jay and do right by them really touched my heart.
“By participating in Summer Bridge, you’re not only getting a glimpse of college life, you’re also setting yourself up for academic achievement by gaining the skills and knowledge needed to successfully navigate your John Jay journey.” —Dynet Sulimani
Imagine you’re talking to a new John Jay student next year who’s thinking about joining the Summer Bridge Program. What do you want to tell them to encourage them to join the program?
Summer Bridge is such a helpful program for first-year students. It really does ease the transition to college and prepares you for your first semester at John Jay. By participating in Summer Bridge, you’re not only getting a glimpse of college life, you’re also setting yourself up for academic achievement by gaining the skills and knowledge needed to successfully navigate your John Jay journey. You’re getting the opportunity to meet other first-year students, professors that work at John Jay, and you’re informed about all the student clubs and of all the resources the College provides its students in terms of health and well-being, emergency financial and academic support, and child care.
