The Rice Emerging Scholars Program (RESP), an innovative, residential academic program designed to help first-year students prepare for the challenging pace, depth and rigor of the STEM curricula at Rice University, recently concluded its summer programming with 50 students participating in the prematriculation program.
“The Rice Emerging Scholars Program is a suite of interventions that we have here at Rice University for first-generation students and also students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds so that we can provide them the tools so that they can succeed in college,” said Angel Martí, professor and chair of chemistry, professor of bioengineering and materials science and nanoengineering and faculty director of RESP.
RESP’s mission is to ensure that students of high potential who attended underresourced high schools, particularly low-income and first-generation students, persist, thrive and graduate at the same rate as their peers, and that these students achieve their academic and professional aspirations as scientists and engineers.
The initiative’s approach to college transition and success is comprehensive, combining a rigorous six-week academic summer bridge program with personalized and holistic mentoring and support for the duration of the college experience.
Since RESP’s founding in 2012, participants have achieved outcomes equal to and often surpassing those of other Rice students from more privileged backgrounds. RESP has reduced attrition from STEM majors significantly among its participants compared to similarly prepared students who did not engage in the program.
Incoming freshman Granger Bering-James shared her excitement to enroll in the program.
“This is my summer; this is how I want to spend it,” Bering-James said. “I just knew it would be such good preparation for transitioning into college.”
Soga Adeyga, another incoming freshman, followed suit with a similar sentiment.
“The RESP program was really helpful to give me a push with physics and calculus to prepare me for the semester at Rice,” Adeyga said.
RESP is designed to ensure that students who would most benefit from the program are not excluded due to cost. Accordingly, the scholars attend the program at no cost and receive a stipend for their participation. They also enjoy a personalized array of mentoring and support services throughout their time at Rice.
In fulfilling its charge to help these students meet all the challenges they face, RESP comprehensively addresses their particular academic and navigational needs together with other challenges unique to students from underserved communities.
To learn more about RESP, visit success.rice.edu/rice-emerging-scholars-program.
