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A group of LEAD students throwing their hands up in the air.

Summer Bridge and First-Year Experience Leadership, Empowerment and Discovery (LEAD)

Available to Incoming Freshman in Fall 2026

Join Us for LEAD this Summer!

A Summer Bridge and First-Year Experience Program

LEAD is a FREE year-long program that is focused on increasing first-year undergraduate students’ sense of belonging at UWSP. The program provides a supportive community that promotes student success by getting first-year undergraduate students ahead and ready to start their college careers. It focuses on campus resources, transitioning into college, student success skills, social and enrichment activities, and the development of future campus leaders.

Program Benefits:

  • Be admitted to the LEAD program through the application process set for by the Student Experience and Transformation (SET) Office.
  • LEAD participants will be part of the LEAD Community Experience, which resides in Burroughs Hall. This community is intended to encourage community engagement and belonging, mentorship, career development, and personal development.
  • Each participant will be reviewed for eligibility for our TRiO Student Support Services program.
  • Move in early for the 1 week Bridge Program (August 23-28th, 2026).
  • Have the opportunity to apply for one of fifteen $1,000 scholarships.
  • Have exclusive access to social and professional development events coordinated by peer mentors, the residence hall team, LEAD program, and SET Office.
  • Be matched with a peer mentor for your first year for support, resources, and connection.
  • Engage in the LEAD community experience constructively, contributing to a supportive environment that fosters the success and well-being of all its members.

 

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Summer Bridge Program Date

August 23 – 28, 2026

Tentative Schedule:

Cost: FREE!

Scholarship: Participants will have the opportunity to apply for one of fifteen $1,000 scholarships. More information will be provided to participants during LEAD Week (August 23-28, 2026)

Application Deadline

Eligibility

  1. Meet UW-Stevens Point’s admission requirements and commit to enrolling in UW-Stevens Point for the upcoming fall 2026 semester
  2. Identify with one or more of the following groups:
    • First-generation college student (neither parent received a bachelor’s degree)
    • Socioeconomic statues (financial need based on FAFSA)
    • Students who have experience with foster care, out-of-home care(kinship care, guardianship, group home placement), homelessness, or were an orphan or ward of the court.
    • International students are not eligible; for UWSP Main Campus students only.
Apply Now

Academic Year Programming

  1. One-Week Transition Program Experience: Participants move into Burroughs hall a week early to ease their transition from high school to college.
  2. Peer Mentorship: Each student is paired with an undergraduate peer mentor (sophomore to senior level) for support throughout their first-year experience.
  3. SET Success Coach: Student services coordinators offer support and connect students to resources for personal, academic, and professional development.
  4. Social and Community Engagement: Planned activities for ongoing social and community engagement.
  5. Student Engagement Centers: MRC, NAC, QRC, and Student Success Center offer educational, social, and community programs/events throughout the academic year.
  6. Participant Cost: FREE!

Contact Us

Tana De Lonay, LEAD & Fostering Success Program Coordinator
Student Services Center 220B
1108 Fremont Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481
set.lead@uwsp.edu | (715) 346-2061 or set@uwsp.edu |715-346-3225

A group of students wearing LEAD T-shirts.
“I just loved the whole experience and felt like I’ve gained so many things from it intellectually and spiritually.”
– 2022 LEAD Student
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point exists upon land inhabited by the indigenous people of this area, including the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and the many other nations and groups that predate colonial borders. We acknowledge that with colonization Native American people have been dispossessed of their lands and irreparably changed by the actions of individuals and institutions. We acknowledge our responsibility to understand and respond to those actions. In partnership with the Native American Center, we commit to working together to honor the past, be intentional in the present, and to build our future with truth. Learn more about the Indigenous Land Acknowledgment statement.