Student Profile 1!

This year, Bridges to a Brighter Future is serving 74 students from all over Greenville County, and we've decided to highlight a few to give you an idea of what the program is doing for them. The first is Samantha Jones, a rising sophomore at Riverside High School. Samantha was so excited about the chance to come to Bridges that she practically fainted when she found out she was nominated. When asked why she was so excited, Sam said that she had a special bond with her nanny, who went to Furman. For years, Sam and her nanny went to all sorts of Furman events and sports games, and this has given her an overwhelming desire to go to Furman. She said that getting nominated for Bridges pushed her to bring her grades up and encouraged her to keep at her studies to make it into the program. Her grades were suffering because of a rare illness that took her nanny's life. Sam has been in and out of the hospital for a while, and this school year was no exception. This past year has been one full of hardships for Sam, but things have really been looking up for her. She's reached a healthy and stable condition (her illness is permanent, but is no longer putting her in danger), and her grades have come up, and with Bridges, she has even more support. "I've never felt more supported in my life" were her words on being with the Bridges program. The students here accept and support her, and she can't get enough of her experiences with the program. From NCBI, which opened her eyes to the conflicts and troubles of her classmates, to Science class, which she loves (Sam wants to be a psychologist), Sam has truly blossomed in her time at Bridges-she has really opened up and Bridges is giving her a chance to shine, and her life can only get better from here! Perhaps the best news of all is that she still has another 2 years to learn and grow!
Look for more student profiles later this week!