Experiences from the first APS Bridge Program Cohort

I will try to summarize my experiences in the APS Bridge program in the first ever cohort in 2013. The experiences I gained during my 2 years at the University of South Florida and the guidance of mentors through the APS Bridge Program have led to opportunities I did not expect to have as an undergraduate struggling to find a community and a sense of belonging in my physics department. My experiences can act as testimony for the nature of how a program expecting to serve the diverse needs of its students can have a profound impact on students’ lives. Through my experiences gained in the Bridge Program I was able to attend University of California, Irvine to attain my Ph.D.. I now work as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory working in topologically non-trivial matter at high magnetic fields.