Bridge Scholars Program

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2026 Bridge Scholars Program Courses

Exploring the Hidden World of Astrochemistry

Assistant Professor Dhanesh Krishnarao (Physics) and Associate Professor Jessica Kisunzu (Chemistry & Biochemistry)

How can we use the tools of scientific analysis to learn about things we can’t see or touch? Scientific studies are capable of investigating objects that vary in size by orders of magnitudes, from atoms and molecules in the lab to stars and galaxies in space. We will bring together the fields of organic chemistry and astrophysics to learn how to carefully craft scientific questions and design spectroscopic experiments to reveal information that may be hidden from our initial view. We will also discuss the inherent subjectivity of scientific exploration as each scientist brings their own history and experiences along with them into any investigation. 

How Did We Get Here? The Intersections of Economic and Education Inequality

Assistant Professor Guanyi Yang (Economics) and Assistant Professor Nickie Coomer (Education)

We all have gone through years of schooling to be where we are. Reflecting on our journeys, how did we get here? Is it parental support, school district, teachers and classmates, our own effort, luck? In the United States, about 1/3 of the population (aged 25 and older) has a college degree. It is generally accepted that college education raises lifelong earnings and quality of life. But what makes college more accessible to some than others? In this class, we will survey various sources and manifestations of educational inequalities in the U.S. using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Using qualitative methods, we will investigate the ways in which education quality is shaped by student and teacher identities, and assumptions about historically marginalized communities and their relationship to property tax-based school funding models. We will also explore the overall landscape of education inequality as it relates to race, gender, and family background by extrapolating national representative surveys. Through this process, we will learn the complementary ways in which qualitative and quantitative analyses can help us understand our own educational journeys.

The Past in Popular Culture

Professor Bryan Rommel-Ruiz (History) and Associate Professor Danielle Sanchez (History)

While graphic novels, video games, and blockbuster hits differ significantly from traditional secondary sources, popular culture heavily influence the ways people understand the past. In this course, students will read, watch, play, and analyze a range of historical and contemporary popular media sources to think about not simply the past, but how people construct, consume, and understand history across platforms. We will consider the value of historical inquiry, why stories are presented in certain ways, and how historians think about audience, present information, engage with sources, and get people to think about the past in unconventional ways.

The Stories of Us

Associate Professor Santiago Guerra (Southwest Studies) and Associate Professor Karen Roybal (Director of Southwest Studies)

What’s your story? What’s the story of your family? Do you see yourself and your family accurately represented in US history books and other narratives? We think of ourselves as individuals, but our identities are inextricably linked to larger social categories like race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. These social categories commonly inform our understanding of the social world and influence our location within it; however, they are often taken for granted or go unrecognized as ways in which inequity is created. Furthermore, because American history uncritically embraces narratives (stories) of “discovery” and “exploration” and myths of benevolent settlers and meritocracy, we learn very little about Indigenous dispossession, African enslavement, and immigrant exploitation as foundational factors of today’s society.

This course introduces you to concepts of social identity and theories around power and equity. We examine the impact of revisionist American history on marginalized groups in the US and critically analyze the erasure of their significant social, economic, and cultural contributions to American society. This course will develop your college-level reading, writing, research, analysis, and discussion skills. Through digital storytelling and other creative activities, we will create counternarratives by telling the stories of us.

Youth Organizing for Environmental Justice

Associate Professor Jean Lee (Environmental Program) and Associate Professor Tina Valtierra (Chair of Education)

This course offers an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. Over the course of the half-block, we will create a working definition of environmental justice and examine youth-led efforts to combat environmental racism. We will identify local and global attempts to reconcile economic development with environmental protection and investigate how the resulting policies reflect systems of power. Students will apply course content to create an artifact designed to disrupt an environmental dilemma affecting systemically marginalized youth.

Report an issue - Last updated: 03/31/2026