Bridge Program receives contribution from AT&T

AT&T Oklahoma donated $20,000 to Oklahoma Christian University’s Bridge Program, a donation that will fund the program for the next year.

According to Associate Director of Student Success Lannea Pemberton, as part of AT&T Aspire, AT&T invests in educational programs that help build academic achievement. This is the third time the company has donated to Oklahoma Christian in six year.

“The Bridge Program has had a partnership with AT&T in the past, so last fall I reached out to my contact at AT&T to see if we could reapply,” Pemberton said. “We went through the application process and were chosen to receive this gift.”

The Bridge Program was created in 2006 to aid underprepared students during their first four semesters at Oklahoma Christian. The program is designed to help students who entered the university with a composite score of 18 or below on their ACT.

The Bridge Program operates through the Student Success Center at Oklahoma Christian and aims to help students balance their responsibilities both inside and outside of the classroom. The program offers a variety of help including academic advising, individual attention from the program director, math advisory, peer mentoring and drop-in tutoring.

First-year student Shantel Johnson said her favorite aspect of the Bridge Program is the individual tutoring available for each major.

“It’s where you can go and get help for any class,” Johnson said. “There’s tutors for engineering, there’s tutors for writing, tutors for math – you have a tutor just for your major.”

Students involved in the Bridge Program are able to plan their tutor sessions to fit their schedules for at least one day each week, but students may receive help every day.

“You can go in there every day if you need it,” Johnson said. “They’re always in there to help.”

The donation from AT&T will help fund intermediate algebra courses and math advisory sessions specifically, as well as help the Student Success Center provide more personal attention for students to help them meet their individual academic goals.

According to Pemberton, this donation will help the students involved in the program to be more successful in the classroom.

“The Bridge Program is primarily funded through donations,” Pemberton said. “This gift will allow us to meet the needs of our students.”