Dr. Sarah Poggione, Associate Professor of Political Science, was one of several faculty featured in the Compass Making the Difference article “Faculty, staff behind summer program give incoming students a fresh start and a head start.”
Dr. Sarah Poggione. Photo by Ben Siegel.
The University’s Summer Transition Program helps students not only transition from high school to college but in many cases allows the students to form their first relationships with OHIO faculty.
One of the faculty members who had her first STP experience that summer is Sarah Poggione, an associate professor of political science who has taught in STP the past two summers.
Poggione will admit that her first summer in STP was challenging, but she’s quick to add, “The STP students really all saw this as a real opportunity to get something they wanted, and being able to help them and be a part of that hooked me on the program. I was happy to do it again this past summer, and I will be happy to participate in this program as long as they need and want me to.”
Poggione said she enjoys being a part of the opportunity STP gives to its students.
“It’s just a really rewarding set of students to work with since they really are at the very beginning of their college careers and there’s all this possibility out there in front of them,” she said. “A lot of them have overcome various challenges that may be part of why they didn’t get an immediate full admission to the University, so they’re students who are working very hard.”
When asked how she feels about making a difference in these students’ lives, Poggione said, “I think there’s probably lots of ways that faculty make a difference that we don’t necessarily know about. … but when you see former STP students on campus, you know you’ve been a part of helping them get something they really wanted. That’s really exciting because you know you’re making a difference by their very presence here.”
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