Streamers fall on members of the senior class of students in UMSL’s Bridge Program Saturday Academy at its annual Award Ceremony on Saturday at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. (Photos by Steve Walentik)

Channon Peoples welcomed a well-dressed crowd of high school students, family members and friends to the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center Saturday evening as the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ Bridge Program marked another successful conclusion of its signature Saturday Academy.

“We’re thrilled to have you all here to share in this moment,” said Peoples, UMSL’s executive director of Precollegiate Student Services, as she kicked off a roughly 90-minute formal program. “Our coming together has always been meaningful, and it marks not just the closing of one chapter, but the beginning of a whole new journey, a journey where we light the path forward for our young people, encouraging them to step forward in their futures with confidence and purpose.”

Emmanuel Morgan delivers the keynote address at the Bridge Program Saturday Academy Award Ceremony. Morgan is a Bridge Program alum now completing his degree in mechanical engineering in the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program.

For 39 years, the Bridge Program has provided comprehensive year-round precollegiate programming free of charge to high school students across the St. Louis region. Contributions from community partners such as the Berges Family Foundation, Boeing and The Saigh Foundation helped make that possible.

A total of 470 high school students in grades 9-12 took part in the program this year, and on two Saturdays each month, they showed up to receive extra instruction in mathematics, science and written and oral communication as well as career research, personal and professional development and college planning.

Since 2003, 100% of Bridge Program graduates have matriculated to postsecondary educational opportunities.

There were 66 seniors recognized during Saturday evening’s award ceremony and reception for their success adding to that legacy. This year’s graduating class has been accepted to more than 120 colleges and universities with 68% of students accepted to four or more institutions. The students have also earned support to continue their education with 62% of students receiving two or more scholarship offers and the class collectively getting offered more than $5 million in scholarships.

Fort Zumwalt East’s Anne Sankale (at left) and Pattonsville’s Daniel Rose served as the mistress and master of ceremonies.

The program’s success lies in how it prepares its students for success in college, as UMSL senior mechanical engineering major Emmanuel Morgan described in his keynote address on Saturday.

It was only five years ago that Morgan was a senior completing the Saturday Academy and on the verge of graduating from Kirkwood High School. Like Pattonville’s Daniel Rose and Fort Zumwalt East’s Anne Sankale on Saturday, he had been tapped to serve as the master of ceremonies at the Saturday Academy 2020 closing event.

“I know what it’s like to be there on Saturdays when friends are all going to restaurants or playing games, and you’re in class doing extra homework, so I sympathize,” Morgan told this year’s seniors. “It’s all over now. It’s all over.”

Morgan has also had the benefit of experience to show him how that extra work has paid off. He is now on the verge of graduating from the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program this spring debt-free after receiving scholarships and managing to work two part-time jobs to cover the full cost of his education.

Marlo Shivers and Kauthar Hammad hold large checks after being announced as recipients of the Dr. Donald Suggs Scholarship.

He credits the instructors he had in the Bridge Program for helping discover that was possible. His time in the program also helped equip him with the tools he needed to make it happen.

“The Bridge Program has shown that you can achieve great things and has helped you discover what you want to do,” Morgan said. “Now the choice is yours. Will you take what you’ve learned and study boldly? Let’s step boldly into the ‘I will’ phase. The Bridge Program told you that you could, and they’re helping you find out what you want, but only you can take yourself from the ‘I could’ to the ‘I want to’ to the ‘I will’ phase.”

He added: “If you’re still waiting for the perfect moment, the moment is now. You have everything you need to commit, to follow through and to achieve. So, class of 2025, what will you do next?”

The students still have some time to answer that. Student speaker Kauthar Hammad, a senior at Hazelwood West High School, made sure they also used Saturday’s award ceremony as a chance to take stock of and celebrate what they’ve already accomplished.

Channon Peoples places a graduation cord over the head of a Bridge Program Saturday Academy graduate.

“To my fellow students, we did it,” she said. “I know it wasn’t always easy – early mornings, challenging lessons and sometimes wanting to be anywhere else. But we showed up, we put in the work, and we should be proud of that. We’ve proved that our success isn’t just about time. It’s about effort, perseverance and showing up even when it’s hard. As we leave tonight, let’s carry forward everything we’ve learned, not just academics, but the lessons about hard work, teamwork and stepping outside our comfort zones.”

Shortly after delivering her remarks, Hammad was announced as one of the two recipients – along with Marlo Shivers – of UMSL’s Dr. Donald Suggs Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship named for the oral surgeon, St. Louis American publisher and community leader.

The evening culminated with the seniors walking across the stage to receive graduation cords from Peoples.

After more than two decades with the Bridge Program, Peoples remains as committed as ever to its goals.

“It’s never lost on me that it is a privilege for us to do what we do,” she said. “In a time where programs and services are dismantled, people are not able to continue the services that they do, we are able to continue to thrive and do that and make the difference in the lives of these students and parents every day. I am more than grateful for that. It’s rewarding every day.”