PASS CS Scholars Mini-Bridge Program

The Path to Achieving Success and Sense of Belonging in Computer Science (PASS CS) is an NSF S-STEM scholarship awarded to incoming Pell-eligible students who will study Computer Science. The inaugural cohort of 10 students will be on campus for the PASS CS Mini-Bridge program from August 7th – 10th. 

The pilot Mini-Bridge program is intended to acclimate the new students to WPI with research-based strategies to create a sense of community and belonging while developing individual academic goals for student success. The bridge program is being led by Matthew Ahrens, Thomas Noviello, and Carly Thorp, with input from Francesca Bernardi and Crystal Brown. WPI CS students will also serve as near-peer mentors for the mini-bridge and the academic year. 

Each scholar is supported for four consecutive academic years and will be immersed in several activities to support the transition to college, navigating WPI, and graduating with a Bachelor of Science from WPI. The PI of the grant program is Rodica Neamtu and is supported by the Office of Undergraduate Studies.