The CollegeBound Summer Institute (CBSI) is back in person! Nearly 70 rising seniors across SL Network’s schools came together for CBSI’s immersive learning experiences at St. Thomas Aquinas College. The CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) team designed the two-day event for students to foster peer connections and to develop knowledge and skills for their upcoming college application season.
Skills for Future College Success
CBSI included workshops such as storytelling for college essays with Story2 and reviewing key financial aid forms. Students also roleplayed as admissions staff to identify elements of a strong college application. “I thought I [would] know everything I need to know once I get to senior year,” said one of the students, “but I realized that I don’t know much about the college process. I gained a lot of knowledge from coming here today, and there is so much more to learn!”
In addition to topics exploring the college application process, CBSI made space for personal development and community building. Through a cultural simulation activity called BAFA BAFA, students increased their awareness of and appreciation for cultural differences with their peers. One student shared, “The activity helped me to connect with people that I don’t know, and that’s going to help me when I go off to college. It was uncomfortable at first but then I opened up.”
Community Connections
For many of the CBSI participants, this was the first time they met students from other TYWLS and CBI partner schools. CBI’s directors of college counseling (DCCs) grouped students together from different schools to facilitate team-building around the shared experience of being part of a larger supportive network. From group Rock, Paper, Scissors to a college edition of Family Feud, students balanced fun icebreakers with learning opportunities. By the second day, new friends cheered each other on in a competitive game of CBSI Jeopardy.
Stephanie Narine, Associate Director of College Access and a CBI alumna, reflected on the experience. She shared, “CBSI has always represented more than just a program for getting a head start to the college and financial aid application processes. It represents our community, our students’ hopes for the future, and our staff’s dedication to supporting them on their path!”
About CBSI and St. Thomas Aquinas College
Launched in 2007, CBSI is a foundational event for rising high school seniors as part of the CollegeBound Initiative. Historically an overnight college campus experience, CBSI was hosted virtually in recent years due to the pandemic. It returned this summer as an in-person commuter program with a new partner, St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) in Rockland County, New York. The college has enrolled over 30 SL Network alumni over the past two decades. The CBSI team is grateful for STAC’s partnership and continued commitment to our students!