October 14, 2020
Nine area students selected for SI Bridges program at SIU
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Nine students from Southern Illinois have been selected as participants in the SI Bridges to the Baccalaureate program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The SI Bridges program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is a partnership among SIU, John A. Logan College and Shawnee Community College. It will help address disparities in postsecondary education access and success for disadvantaged students, including underrepresented minorities, students with disabilities and those who are economically disadvantaged.
The program provides paid biomedical and behavioral science research training and professional development for underserved community college students. Students receive assistance in transferring to SIU and completing a baccalaureate in science, technology, engineering, math or social science disciplines.
Established at SIU in 2013, the program is interdisciplinary and draws on the expertise and mentoring skills of faculty.
The program last year received a second, five-year round of funding worth $1.6 million, which will carry it through 2024. During its existence at SIU, SI Bridges has served 37 students not including this year’s cohort. So far, 37 students have earned associate degrees, with 82% transferring to SIU or other four-year universities. To date, 24 students have earned their baccalaureates, and nine are pursuing graduate degrees.
This year’s cohort of students are:
Brookport
Lauren Troutt
Troutt graduated from Massac County High School and currently is attending Shawnee Community College. She is expected to graduate this year with an Associate in Applied Science and will transfer to SIU in 2021 with plans to major in criminal justice. She hopes to someday work in a crime lab.
Carterville
Ashley Bryant
Bryant graduated from West Chicago Community High School in 2013. She began attending John A. Logan College in 2018 and was invited to be a scholar of the National Society of Leadership & Success. She graduated this summer before transferring to SIU this fall. She plans to major in microbiology and hopes to pursue a career in a medical field.
Emily Duran
Duran graduated with honors from Carterville High School in 2018. While attending John A. Logan College, she received an award for Excellence in Biology and was on the vice president’s list. She graduated this summer with an Associate of Science and transferred to SIU this fall with plans to major in plant biology.
Creal Springs
Tamara Keene
Keene graduated from Marion High School in 2018 and attended John A. Logan College and transferred to SIU this fall with plans to major in nutrition and dietetics and to perform research in those areas and others.
Goreville
Logyn Frassato
Frassato graduated with high honors from Goreville High School in 2019. He currently attends Shawnee Community College and has recently been named on the vice president’s list. He currently is earning an Associate of Arts degree and plans to graduate in spring 2021. He will transfer to SIU with plans to earn a baccalaureate in a major to be decided.
Tehya Payne
Payne graduated with honors from Goreville High School in 2018. She graduated from Shawnee Community College this summer with two associate degrees before transferring to SIU this fall. She plans to major in psychology with her ultimate goal of earning a graduate degree.
Marion
Matthew Claar
Claar graduated from a high school in Miles City, Montana, in 2007 and served in the Army airborne infantry from 2008 to 2016. He transferred to SIU this fall. He plans to pursue a major in forestry and is interested in understanding how best to protect and to preserve the environment.
Metropolis
Dawn Hale
Hale graduated from Massac County High School and is currently attending Shawnee Community College. She plans to graduate with her Associate in Science in fall 2020 and transfer to SIU in 2021 with plans to major in microbiology. She hopes to someday work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thebes
Kailee Henderson
Henderson graduated from Egyptian High School in 2019. She graduated with a gold tier scholarship to Shawnee Community College where she studied multiple arts and sciences to earn both an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science this year. She transferred to SIU this fall with plans to study radiological sciences.