Objective: To help you to effectively manage your time in college by outlining the five components of an undergraduate education. This assessment allows you a structure upon which you can build your undergraduate experience. It also illustrates that your undergraduate experience consists of five elements and how you piece those together matters. “Too many students fail to engage in the process of figuring out what they want to get out of their entire college experience.”6 The bridge exercises helps students build their own blueprint as to what they want to get out of their entire college experience.
Directions: Your undergraduate experience consists of five elements:
• Your major/s and minor/s
• Your core classes and curriculum
• Your elective classes
• Your co-curricular involvement and leadership opportunities
• Your experiential education opportunities (e.g., internships, study abroad, jobs)
Underneath these five elements is your foundation that consists of past experiences, family members, friends, personal traits, and beliefs. What do you believe is the foundation of your life at this point in time? What or who do you refer to when you reflect back upon your life or need assistance? What experiences do you draw lessons from in order to move forward?
For this exercise, create a bridge illustration that contains the following:
• Today’s date on the left-hand side of the page
• Your anticipated graduation date on the right-hand side of the page
• A description of your foundation at the bottom of the page
• A bridge illustration that contains five separate yet equal components:
○ Your major/s or minor/s that already have declared or would like to declare
○ Your core classes and curriculum that you would like to take prior to graduation
○ Your elective classes that you would like to take prior to graduation
○ Your co-curricular activities that you would like to get involved with and perhaps lead one day before graduation
○ Your experiential education opportunities that you would like to apply to such as an internship, study abroad, or other opportunities.
Please Note: Once you build your bridge the first time, you will more than likely edit it as you go through your undergraduate experience. Please refer to it each semester, so that you can plan accordingly and get the most out of your undergraduate experience.
