Learning the Landscape

As a small campus community, Queens University of Charlotte seeks to be a place where students feel connected—to each other, to faculty and staff, to the spaces where they live and learn, and to the offices designed to offer support and resources to ensure their success. Queens provides a range of opportunities and programs for incoming students (first year and transfer) to help them develop those connections. Students who would like more information about or to participate in any of the programs listed below should reach out to the program contact.

Thrive Institute

The Thrive Institute is a summer bridge program offered by invitation to first-time, full-time students seeking a college degree. Its purpose is to support historically marginalized student populations—first-generation college students, students of color, and/or students from low-income backgrounds—in their transition to college life. Students live on campus for a week and participate in academic, social, and team-building exercises and workshops. With the guidance of peer and faculty mentors, they create an academic success plan and become familiar with the many resources and activities available to them at Queens.

Prospective students who would like more information about the Thrive Institute should contact David Brown (brownd3@queens.edu).

L.E.A.D.

The Learn, Empower, Act, Diversify (L.E.A.D.) program is a peer mentoring program for first-generation, Pell-eligible, and students of color. First-year students apply to the program as mentees and graduate to be mentors by their second year. The program, coordinated by the Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement (DICE) staff, is designed for one-on-one mentoring and incorporates social, educational, and service activities.

Prospective students who would like more information about L.E.A.D. should contact Rosa Ramirez (ramirezr2@queens.edu).

Transfer 2 University (T2U)

The Transition to University (T2U) program is designed to help incoming first-year students adjust to their new social and academic community at Queens. This is also beneficial for

transfer and international students. Groups of 8-10 first-year students meet with two upper-class student leaders one night a week to discuss topics about the transition to university life. These groups provide a safe and supportive setting for students to discuss some of the experiences and normal challenges of starting university life and to share strategies for dealing with these issues. It is also an opportunity to make new college connections, find friendship and support, and essentially have a small “family” on campus.

Prospective students who would like more information about T2U should contact Melinda Harper, Ph.D (harperm@queens.edu).

Charlotte Talent Initiative (CTI)

The Charlotte Talent Initiative (CTI) is a cohort-based career pipeline program for Charlotte-area students. This program funds tuition, room, and board for CTI participants for four years, as long as they continue to meet the program requirements. The program is designed to create economic success in Charlotte by helping talented students from low-income backgrounds succeed in their careers. CTI works to achieve this goal by providing purposeful in-class and out-of-class experiences such as coursework, internships, mentorship, and leadership development.

Prospective students who would like more information about CTI should contact David Brown (brownd3@queens.edu).