AABP honors students’ achievements

Over 90 American University of Sharjah (AUS) students were honored during the fourth Achievement Academy Bridge Program (AABP) Fall 2016 award ceremony held December 13, 2016 on campus.

The ceremony honored those who have made significant progress in their courses and increased their language proficiency to a level suitable for study in university-level courses taught in English. The ceremony also recognized students who had showed improvement in personal, academic and study skills.

Laurial Mehdi, a Senior Instructor of AABP and one of the organizing committee of the award ceremony said, "Today is a day of celebration where many of you worked so hard and were so persistent. We award you for your efforts and celebrate with you."

"I would like to acknowledge my colleagues in the Achievement Academy for the wonderful job they have done to prepare the students for university studies. Knowing the language is an essential component of having a good chance for success at the university and I congratulate all students awarded today," said Ali Shuhaimy, AUS Executive Director of Enrollment Management, as he addressed the honorees.

Jessica March, Acting Director of Achievement Academy, also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the outstanding achievements by AABP and the university in making this program a success. She also spoke about how the AABP is working in conjunction with the British Council and said, "We have the IELTS student Ambassador project starting where candidates have been nominated by their teachers. The winning student will receive training from the British Council, the opportunity to develop leadership skills and a free IELTS test."

Former Bridge Program student Mariam Ahmed Al Kadhim spoke to the students and explained the benefits of going into the AABP in order to improve their academics, team-building skills, and extracurricular contributions in the university.

The AABP improves student readiness for enrollment into their majors and for the rigors of an academic program of study in higher education. In addition to helping students improve their English language skills, the program also helps students prepare for university math and physics courses, and enhances students' personal, academic and study skills to maximize the likelihood of success in their university experience.