Countdown to College is Saint Mary’s premier college bridge program for high schoolers who exhibit immense academic potential and might also have socio-economic barriers. This program is supported through the philanthropic efforts of the First Generation Initiative program. Students attend two weeks of “camp” each summer during their high school career here at Saint Mary’s and can earn up to 6 college credits from the undergraduate college. These students attend Lasallian and Catholic partner schools in Minnesota (Austin, Minneapolis, and Rochester), Wisconsin (Racine), Illinois (Chicago and Waukegan), Arizona (Tucson), and Montana (Browning).
This year, we will be welcoming 59 students to campus from July 8 – July 21. These high schoolers will be living on campus, attending classes during the day, and participating in enriching and life skill based activities in the evening. If you see the students around campus, we encourage you to engage with them and give them the good ole’ Saint Mary’s welcome. We have 11 counselors, 21 faculty members, 4 partner teachers, and the entire Student Success Center contributing to the success of Countdown to College this year. Thank you to everyone involved, we deeply appreciate the support.
How can you be involved? There are several opportunities for you to engage with the Countdown to College students while they are here on campus. See below for details:
- Plaza Party!
- Monday, July 10 at 4:15pm in the Plaza
- Enjoy refreshments, snacks, and games with the Students and the Christian Brothers! Stop by to say hi, or stay and play a game!
- Year 4 (Senior) Poster Presentations
- Friday, July 21 at 11am in Aquinas Hall
- As a part of their Biology course, seniors prepare research projects that they will present in a traditional poster presentation session. Please stop by to listen about their process, give them encouragement, and congratulate them on completing C2C!
If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about supporting the Countdown to College program, please reach out to c2c@smumn.edu.
