SANFORD - Just weeks into her first college semester, Sydney Homesley was struggling with an assignment. Working on a paper for her online class, she needed help formatting the reference page, and the information provided didn't solve her problem. 她陷入了真正的困境.

"I was 真的 stressed out about this," Homesley said. "But then I remember talking in the Summer Bridge program about a service the Writing and Reading Center provides, where you can send in a paper and they will give you feedback and help you with any questions you may have.

"This 真的 saved me, and I still use it for all of the writing assignments I have."

今年早些时候推出, Summer Bridge was designed to do just that -- ease the transition for new university transfer students at Central Carolina 社区 大学 and help them tap into resources that will help them succeed in the classroom.

凯文·皮尔森, 谁导演了《推荐正规买球平台》, says the idea is to get new students comfortable on campus even before they begin classes. It also teaches what he calls "soft skills" -- expertise students need to manage their time and schedules, 批判性的思考, 解决问题, and even communicate effectively with college faculty.

It's done by condensing a one-hour credit course that all university transfer students take into eight days and offering it alone, 整个夏天, when there are fewer distractions. That course -- listed as "ACA 122: 大学 Transfer Success" -- provides students with information and strategies necessary to develop clear academic and professional goals beyond the community college experience.

"A lot of colleges offer some kind of first-year experience or freshman seminar course, and this is what we're doing at 推荐正规买球平台,皮尔森说. "We're combining general academic skills with information specific to our college that students can use from the very beginning."

Another feature of Summer Bridge is a service-learning project where students leave campus to assist the community as one of their course requirements. 今年夏天, they prepared meals and spent time with residents at an assisted living facility in Pittsboro.

The idea is to help students understand that one way to learn and progress in life is to help others and understand their different perspectives and relate that back to their respective college transfer and career plans.

Pearson believes experiences like Summer Bridge are essential for success. He cites studies showing that the transition from high school to college can be overwhelming, and when students can't handle it, they struggle during their first semester -- or even drop out altogether.

Based on student evaluations and comments, 皮尔森说, Summer Bridge made a huge difference for these incoming students. And his office has been tracking how they have been performing academically in their first semester. 到目前为止，一切顺利.

Homesley agrees that the experience helped her succeed from the very start of her college career. "Summer Bridge 真的 got me focused on my school work on a more serious level than I was for high school,她说. "It is a fast-pace program where you do a full semester's work in eight days. This got me used to doing a lot of work very fast, so now I do not have trouble staying on task with the pace of my assignments."

在成立的第一年, 14 students participated in Summer Bridge, and plans are to expand that number in the future. Students last summer received scholarships from Wells Fargo to participate and earn that one hour of college credit at no cost.

Pearson views Summer Bridge as a prime opportunity for students to get a head start on their college educations. 甚至他们的职业生涯, since those all-important "soft skills" have a significant impact on job interviews and success in the workplace.

"I can look back and say that if I had something like this, I would've been much more successful with my first semester and, 真的, 在我的第一年,他说. "Getting feedback from students this year showed how they feel more prepared. It's a great opportunity for students and a real help to them being successful in the future."

Students who may be interested in Summer Bridge 2017 can contact 推荐正规买球平台 大学 Success Coordinator/Advisor 凯文·皮尔森 at 919-718-7386 or by email at kpearson@预备.edu.

To learn more about Central Carolina 社区 大学, visit the website www.预备.edu.