WHSAD Junior, Amina Clyde, did all work for this article.
What is Summer Bridge?
As stated by the WHSAD.org website, “WHSAD’s annual summer bridge program is designed to introduce incoming freshmen to the basic skill sets needed to perform efficiently in their CTE classes and Work-based learning projects. Students will learn through team project collaboration and feedback. This program is also open to middle school students from 6th and 7th grade who are interested in architecture and design.”
It consists of two sessions, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. The morning session is from 9-10:30 and the afternoon session is from 11:30-1. The students have the option to stay for both or come for either time. Each session is the same, so students who dedicate time to both yield better skills in AutoCAD.
The very first thing the students do is a presentation about themselves. The questions consisted of what middle school they’re coming from, what are some hobbies they enjoy, and what drew them to the school. For the icebreaker, the students did ‘two truths and a lie’. This gives them opportunities to know more about each other, and helps students visualize all the different backgrounds everyone is coming from. Even we mentors participated in this activity to tell the students about ourselves.
First Assignment- Student Planner
For the very first assignment, students are tasked with creating a design for their student planner. The designs are whittled down and chosen by the school officials. The students start by sketching the design on paper before transferring the concept to AutoCAD. After their designs are properly traced, they are taught how to ‘hatch’ the design, which in AutoCAD terms means to color. Their designs are then sent to Ms. Cumberbatch, which she sends to the person making the planner.
Printing Planner AutoCAD Demo
After the planners are done, the students are given a demonstration led by Ms Cumberbatch on how to send the planners to her email. The instructions are also written on the board to aid in students who take slightly longer or those who aren’t finished with their planners.
Planter Box
The larger project of the program is a planter box made for the Bushwick Inlet Park, which has a partnership with WHSAD. The goal is for each student to create their own box with their name and unique design attached to it. There were assignments that students were required to do outside of the classroom that aided in the project. First, they were asked to sketch designs of their soon to be made box along with selecting a few images of what they’d associate with the project.
For the students’ second assignment, they were tasked with identifying potential spaces for their planter boxes using a satellite image of the park sourced from google maps. (Fun Fact: The park is so new that its satellite image on Google Earth isn’t up to date!) The assignment was given during our virtual learning session on Fridays.
Planter Box AutoCAD Demo
In the classroom we had a demonstration led by Joshua, a mentor in the program. He taught the students a step by step process of creating the planter box and gave creative liberties on what their designs could be. The demonstration is shown on the smart board and written on the white board for students who missed a step, had to restart, or had trouble reading the board up front. Shortcuts relevant to the assignment were also put up for maximum efficiency and to further strengthen the kids’ ability in AutoCAD.
Bushwick Inlet Park Trip
In relation to the planter box project, the students were taken on a trip to Bushwick Inlet Park to map out where their planter boxes would be. Here they took pictures around the park to become more familiar with the area and of spaces they wanted in their box.
High Rock Trip
Aside from working in the classrooms on computers for hours on end, the students have an opportunity to seize the outdoors and go places outside of Brooklyn. An example of this is the Summer Bridge High Rock trip in Staten Island. This trip is not only engaging but also educational. The incoming freshman get to conceptualize solutions to some of the problems the trails have and learn more about architecture apart from just buildings.
But what is High Rock?
According to the Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, “Often referred to as one of the most tranquil places in New York City, High Rock Park is noted for its quiet ponds and deep woods. Hosting the Greenbelt Conservancy’s headquarters, the park has been recognized as a Natural Environmental Education Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.”
In addition to these facts, WHSAD has a High Rock program that allows students to fix these trails, making their ideas a reality with their own two hands. Three of the Summer Bridge mentors, Kevin, Matthew, and Zyon gave a summary of what they had done during their time in High Rock. Each explained that the goal of the program was to close manmade trails and clear any hazardous objects from paths to make them safer. We not only got to see their work, we were able to see the longevity of the work since most of the adjustments were done years prior.
The tour consisted of a ton of walking and several insects accompanying us that day. Outside of that, I actually found the trails quite enjoyable. I can’t recall the last time I had been really embedded in nature like the High Rock trip. We even saw deer, which unfortunately were too fast for me to capture on camera.
The High Rock trip is an opportunity for students to see that all their architecture work doesn’t have to be behind a computer screen. They can make changes in spaces everyone uses and see the fruits of their labor years later.
Snug Harbor Trip
The next trip is a collaborative trip with another summer program at WHSAD, the RAMSA mentor partnership. Together the two programs explore the cultural center and botanical garden that is Snug Harbor. The mission according to the Snug Harbor website is “to provide a vibrant, regional cultural destination that offers dynamic programming in arts, education, horticulture, agriculture, and recreation for diverse cultures and all ages while ensuring a well-managed campus for all residents of Staten Island and surrounding communities.”
For our trip, we were required to find architecture styles in small groups as a scavenger hunt. This gave us a chance to explore the sight freely and take in all of the beautiful buildings there.
My group visited the 9/11 memorial they had there as well. The small building had videos and photos from the event set all around the walls. They also had a list of the people who aided in the aftermath on the wall when you walked in.
After that we were led to a popular museum in the area to look at their latest exhibition. The goal of the exhibition was to highlight the people of Staten Island by having their everyday clothes and accessories on display. The discussion was led by Shauna, who has worked at Snug Harbor for 7 years and has been around the art scene her entire life.
The last thing we did before heading back was visit the Chinese Scholar’s Garden, which is a very popular site in that area. You can visit the Snug Harbor website to find out all the interesting facts about the area, but it truly is better to see in person. It’s nothing short of breathtaking and is almost like a walk through time as it is vastly different from the rest of the buildings.
Greenbelt Nature Center Trip
Similar to the High Rock trip, Greenbelt is also a place partnered with WHSAD that allows students to readjust paths and trails made by marathon runners while preserving the wildlife. We hiked for a while with the goal of thinking of how to reimagine the education space there.
On the way we saw one of the competition winners for WHSAD’s redesign project for a trail. Several students were tasked with lengthening the longevity of one of the trials that was creating runoff in the nearby pond. The solution was to create a series of bridges two strides apart across the trail.
At the end, the incoming freshmen along with their mentor explained their ideas for the education space. This activity gave the incoming freshmen perspective on what comes with planning a renovation. They considered budget, time, and if the idea was a realistically achievable one.
Mentor Experience
Aside from the teachers leading the program, a driving force of the Summer Bridge program are its mentors. Some of these mentors are graduates, SYEP workers and students who are still in the school. The combination of people gives the students more opportunities to learn more about the school. The graduates have years of experience under their belts and the mentors who are still WHSAD students can give information on their overall school experience in regards to classes, extracurricular activities, etc.
My mentor experience is as a person who is still in WHSAD, I am a sophomore going to junior year. During my time in Summer Bridge I’ve seen things in AutoCAD that I didn’t know before. It opened my eyes to the sheer amount of content it holds and how much it does with it.
I’ve gotten to work on my leadership skills and take initiative with writing things on the board, making sure kids are working, and such. My time as a mentor also helped me refresh my memory in AutoCAD as well. I find myself enjoying the task of preparing freshmen for the school.
Student Experiences
Zamar
“We learned about making houses and learned how to use AutoCAD. At first it was hard to keep up with the instructions but after a while it got easier. I made a nametag and a key chain along with a planter box. For the name tag I sketched a Spider Man design. If I had one more wee,k I would like to 3D print. The trail we walked was different from my experience in middle school.”
David
“I think the summer bridge program was a nice time pacer for the summer. Some of the mentors were cool and I was able to make friends before the school year started. We made planters in AutoCAD along with the keychain”
Morgan
“The summer program was good and I learned a lot about AutoCAD and how to use it. We learned 3d printing and laser engraving. I would’ve liked to see more in-depth learning of AutoCAD. The program made me more excited for high school and to get away from middle school.”
Matthew
“The program was pretty nice, it was relaxing to go on the computer and work. I feel like I got very good at AutoCAD in my time in the program. My favorite part of the program was the Bushwick Inlet trip.”
Next Steps For Students
RAMSA Program
Many wonder what the next steps are for freshmen and what they can do during the school year and when it ends. One of the summer programs WHSAD has is called RAMSA, which pairs with the architecture firm to create a step by step process of a design based on a threshold they find interesting. At the end of the program students go to the RAMSA offices and present their work directly to the architects.
For this year’s trip, I’ve pulled two student responses from soon to be juniors who worked in the program.
Amari
For the summer youth program this year I worked with RAMSA. For six weeks we had the task of taking a picture of a threshold and transforming it into something completely different by the end of the six weeks. Initially I wasn’t enjoying myself, I had never used Photoshop before, and we only had one week to create a collage.
A theme of this program was to trust the process, and so I did. By week 3 we had made physical models based on our collages and on a Thursday we had the midterm review with four architects from RAMSA. On week 4 we started to use Rhino, a 3d modeling program which I have also never used before so I once again wasn’t enjoying myself. But between week 4 and 5 I had a shift and suddenly I started enjoying my work a lot more. I became a lot better with Rhino and it became much easier to create my model and make changes without needing any help from Mr Rodriguez and Mr Crockford.
By the end of week 5 we had been assigned biomes to place our models in and were also tasked with creating spaces within our very abstract models. The end of week 6 was presentation day and I think everyone did well including myself. It was very satisfying to see all the stress and confusion pay off when the judges had so many positive things to say about my work. Working with RAMSA has been a very interesting experience as I have never done anything like this before or at least not with this time frame.
Linda
As a rising junior, participating in this summer program was a fantastic opportunity. Initially, I thought the program would be a straightforward experience, but it turned out to be challenging and highly engaging. Through this program, I was provided with the opportunity to work with Rhino, a 3D modeling tool, as well as Photoshop. Under the guidance of two experienced architects, Alp and Saba, who held regular Google Meet sessions, our progress was closely monitored. This approach made the program even more beneficial as we were guided toward success.
Utilizing Rhino and Photoshop proved to be challenging due to the limited time available to complete the project. Despite the inherent complexities associated with these software programs, I was able to develop a solid understanding and proficiency in them thanks to the guidance provided by my supervisors, Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Crockford. Their support and guidance proved to be invaluable, enabling me to navigate these programs effectively and efficiently, allowing me to successfully complete my project within the six-week time limit.
Throughout the program, we were tasked with designing a space that could be explored, rather than limiting ourselves to common terms like “kitchen” or “bedroom.” By eliminating these labels, we were able to tap into our creativity and explore new possibilities. The project resulted in the creation of a pavilion that was intended to elicit a sense of awe and wonder in its visitors. Throughout the design process, we were able to freely use our imagination, resulting in a project that exceeded our initial expectations.
One of the most exciting and fulfilling moments during the RAMSA program was the final presentation, where all of our hard work from the past six weeks was finally put on display. Presenting in front of a room full of architects was extremely nerve-wracking, but the sense of pride and satisfaction that I felt upon sharing my project and seeing the wonderful work of my peers was unparalleled. It was truly a win in my book. Above all, being a part of such an enriching experience that will undoubtedly help me in my future architectural endeavors is a testament to how incredible and worthwhile this program is. To conclude, I plan to participate in the program again next year with a newfound sense of confidence and knowledge.