Cornell, partners seek to grow STEM recruiting program

By Syl Kacapyr
Published in the Cornell Chronicle on March 15, 2022

TYWLS East Harlem alumna, Barakat A., was featured in this article on how Cornell is improving the diversity of students pursuing STEM degrees.

More than 50 high-school principals, guidance counselors, students and leaders from community-based organizations gathered at Cornell Tech Feb. 28 to discuss how to grow Cornell’s Bridges Scholars from a recruiting and enrollment pilot program into a national collaborative aimed at improving the diversity of students pursuing science and engineering degrees.

Unlike traditional college recruiting programs that compete for students based on standardized test scores, Bridges Scholars takes a more collaborative, qualitative approach, working strategically with partners to identify prospective students early in their high-school careers. The program admits cohorts of students from the same high schools and community-based organizations, giving them a familiar support system once they arrive at Cornell, and provides services to mitigate the barriers typically faced by minority and first-generation students.