Published: Sept. 8, 2017 By

Our 2017 Engineering GoldShirt Summer Bridge Program ran from Friday, July 7 through Friday, July 21 and we welcomed 43 new students in Cohort 9!

We kicked off the program with an assessment day and a challenge, and a team building course at Gold Hill Ranch. For some of the students, this was an exciting first trip into the mountains.

Students also learned a variety of engineering skills in workshops hosted by the Integrated Teaching and Learning Lab (ITLL) by designing, building, and testing S.A.R.A.'s (search and rescue assistants). The students also worked on spatial visualization skills and sharpened their skills in mathematics and physics.   

They spent time networking with faculty and staff and took industry tours to Ball, Medtronic, GH Phipps, and Zayo. To close out the program, the students presented their S.A.R.A.'s at a design expo on Friday, July 21.

The BOLD Center would like to give a big THANK YOU to all the faculty and staff that made this year's Summer Bridge a success:

Instructors: Sandra Williams - Math (Applied Math), Mike Soltys - Math and Physics (Engineering Plus), Malinda Zarske - Engineering Projects (Engineering Plus), Jacob Segil - Spatial Visualization (Engineering Plus), Jana Milford, Engineering and Humanities.

Engineering Skill Building Workshops: Kai Amey (ITLL), Dan Godrick (ITLL), Tim May (ITLL) and the ITLL team.

Research 101 Presentations: Shelly Miller, Joann Silverstein, Keith Molenaar, Tom Yeh.  

Industry Tours Coordination: Vanessa Dunn and Jenna Greenwood (The BOLD Center).

Photography: Dianna Miguez

Advising: Allie McRichie

Summer Bridge Assessments: Beth Myers

Thank you to the following Faculty and Staff who ate dinner and networked with the GoldShirt students: Penny Axelrad, Clair Colvin, Rob Davis, John Evans, John Farnsworth, Alex Fosdick, Maura Hollister, Rebecca Kuglitsch, Allie McRitchie, Shelly Miller, Martha Palma, Dimitri Psychogiou, Deb Renshaw, Marisa Reynolds, Ben Shapiro, Julie Steinbrenner, Angela Thieman Dino, Joanne Uleau, Debbie Yeh and Katherine McConnell.

And to the following industry representatives who attended the dinner and/or networking reception: Lissa Bricker, Zayo; Kelli Kelly, Zachary Walker and Amber Freyxell, PCL; Theresa Kostenbauer and Ellen Thanheiser, Arrow.

Thanks also to Ruby Batella in the Leeds School of Business for sharing their space with us.

And most importantly of all, thanks to Tanya Ennis and Cara Lammey for their hard work and vision for making GoldShirt Summer Bridge a memorable experience for every student.

We couldn't do this important program without the help of all the staff and supporters of The BOLD Center and the GoldShirt Program!