The heart of Bridges’ work for the past twenty years has been free, comprehensive and individualized college counseling. Bridges has helped increase access to higher education for students of all ages for more than 2,700 students and their families. We do so one person, one dream, each one-on-one session at a time. Sue Goldberg, former Bridges college counselor and Co-Director, spoke about this work in a Spotlight on her:
The original mission is alive and well. This is what we do: we help one person at a time through this process. And there is no recipe because each person is different. Sure, there are common steps, obviously; but each person’s path is unique.
Over the last several years, we have developed and implemented a Comprehensive Counseling Model. This model is a standardized structure for our college counseling, which helps us ensure we meet with each client through key waypoints of their process. Our goal is that our clients don’t miss important steps in the process. Our hope is that with more regular counseling sessions we build a relationship with our clients, and nurture trust, so that when more vulnerable moments arise – like working on essays, or supporting them as they make their choice among schools – we can be a strong ally for them.