UMassGives 2021

Student Bridges is a student-led agency at UMass Amherst. Our mission is to increase college access and success for underrepresented students on the university campus and in our neighboring communities by building partnerships at UMass, with local schools and community organizations, offering college awareness, preparation, and success activities, and advocating for enhanced institutional and public policies.

We have been a part of the UMass community for over a decade and have made deeply rooted connections on-campus and in our partnering communities in Springfield, Holyoke, Amherst, and Boston, MA.

Your donation today will contribute to the success of underrepresented communities at UMass and beyond. Our work creates several bridges to connect underrepresented communities to higher education.

• Community Engagement
  • The Director of Student Bridges, Dr. Yedalis Ruíz, teaches courses through UMass Civic Engagement and Service Learning (CESL) where students learn about educational equity and asset-based community engagement in and outside of the classroom. Every week, students travel from UMass to support local middle and high school students as tutor-mentors in Amherst, Holyoke, and Springfield public schools.
• Culturally Responsive Tours
  • Student Bridges offers student-led campus tours designed for students from underrepresented student populations, making UMass more accessible to communities of color, first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and non-traditional college students.
• On-campus programming and advocacy
  • Student Bridges hosts and participates in events throughout the year to build community on-campus that foster discussions on a variety of topics including mental health, inequity and racism in education, experiences in attending predominantly white institutions, campus involvement, campus policy, civic engagement, representation in the media, campus sexual assault, and food insecurity. We also work to ensure student voices are heard by serving as student representatives on several administrative boards and committees at the university.
  • Through our community partnerships, middle and high school students are able to come to UMass to participate in our bi-annual event, I’m So College, where current UMass student leaders come to discuss the college process, answer questions students may have about attending college, and create an overall college positive environment.
• SB Staff
  • Student Bridges maintains a staff of 12-15 undergraduate students who run the agency along with a graduate student advisor and the director.  Student Bridges has always been led by students for students. Offering these staff positions at UMass creates an opportunity for student leaders to develop skills in event planning, program coordination, public speaking, advertising, budgeting, recruitment, research, critical thinking, and countless others. Student Bridges believes that our student staff is our greatest asset as it allows us to have a first-hand perspective of what student needs are at UMass and in our communities.

Want to learn more?

Email Student Bridges at studentbridges@gmail.com

Stay up to date! Follow us on

Instagram: @studentbridges

Twitter: @Student_Bridges

Facebook: @Student Bridges UMass Amherst