Community & Connection

Belonging can shape a student’s entire Bucknell experience. When they find their community, build meaningful relationships and feel supported in navigating new challenges, they are better positioned to discover their strengths, pursue opportunities and thrive. Through Community & Connection programs, we are creating the conditions for every Bucknellian to feel seen, valued and empowered to contribute.”

— Moe McGuinness, Vice President for Student Affairs & Fritz Family Dean of Students

BELONGING IS THE FOUNDATION.

A Bucknell education extends far beyond the classroom. It takes shape in the friendships students build, the mentors who guide them and the traditions that make a campus feel like home.

Families are asking whether four years on a residential campus, in a community of peers, is still worth the investment. At Bucknell, the answer is lived every day — during a mentor’s check-in, around a campfire at Pre-Orientation, in an arena full of students who showed up for each other.

This campaign strengthens the programs that welcome a new student as a member of the Bucknell family.

Every student deserves more than a place at Bucknell — they deserve to find their place and a community that helps them thrive.

THE FIRST CONNECTION CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.

The right mentor. An outdoor adventure. A shared cultural experience. A tradition that brings students together.

These moments build confidence, friendships and the networks students need to navigate college and life beyond it. Without those connections, students can feel they are navigating the journey alone. With them, challenges become manageable and opportunities become accessible.

Bucknell has the opportunity to build on that foundation.

Community & Connection programs cross Student Affairs, Multicultural Student Services (MSS), the Center for Access & Success (CAS) and Outdoor Education & Leadership (OEL). From Pre-Orientation to peer mentorship, outdoor discovery to identity-affirming communities, these initiatives help students find their place and maintain their momentum through graduation.

Early Access & Transition

Before the rush of Orientation, before the first syllabus, incoming students find their people. Programs like Journey to Bucknell, BuckWild, RAMP Up! and the planned Leadership Pre-Orientation give students a common goal, shared problem-solving and the trust that comes with it. The friendships form in the downtime — in nature, on bus rides, over shared meals.

BuckWild, an outdoor adventure experience, helps incoming students build friendships and develop confidence before classes begin. Building on student demand and feedback, a new sophomore experience, BuckWild 2.0, would help reconnect students during a pivotal transition year, strengthening relationships and renewing their sense of belonging after the guardrails of first year fall away.

Peer Mentorship & Student success

No student should have to figure it all out alone.

MSS’ signature program, T.E.A.M., pairs every new student with an upperclass peer mentor, creating a community for multicultural students they didn’t have to search for. Students say it plainly: without T.E.A.M., they would have transferred. With it, they stayed, thrived and turned around to mentor the next class.

First doesn’t mean alone. The GenFirst! Mentor Program matches students with mentors who understand what it means to be first generation, and help students capitalize on everything Bucknell offers.

The First-gen Festival. The GenFirst Bonfire. The Posse and GenFirst Commencement Pinning Ceremonies. These programs support first-generation students by helping them build networks, navigate hurdles and claim their place at Bucknell, while celebrating achievements with all of campus — moments of pride that forge bonds for a lifetime.

Spirit & Traditions

A campus becomes a community when students make it their own.

Spirit & Traditions initiatives, led by the student-driven Bison Spirit Council and Student Affairs, ignite an enduring sense of pride and belonging, weaving students of all class years into a vibrant, unified Bucknell family.

Students create unforgettable moments of connection throughout the year, ensuring no student ever feels like a stranger on campus. 

INVEST IN BELONGING. BUILD A LASTING FOUNDATION.

Every gift to a Community & Connections initiative strengthens the relationships, programs and experiences that help students thrive — from their first connection to their walk across the Commencement stage.

Recognition Opportunities

• GenFirst Student Experience Fund: $1 million
  • Supports Center for Access & Success operations, staffing and sustainable GenFirst! programming.
• Leadership Pre-Orientation: $1 million 
  • Establishes dedicated leadership development before New Student Orientation.
• Outdoor Education & Leadership: $1 million
  • Supports Buckwild, student trip leader stipends, equipment and the new Buckwild 2.0 sophomore experience
• Multicultural Student Experience: $1 million
  • Supports student conference travel, cultural and historical experience trips and community programming
• Pre-Orientation programs: $1 million
  • Supports program operations and financial assistance for Pre-Orientation and pre-enrollment initiatives.
• Spirit & Traditions: $1 million
  • Sustains student-led spirit initiatives, campus celebrations and shared traditions.
• T.E.A.M. Peer Mentoring Program: $600,000 
  • Sustains peer mentoring and supports expansion beyond the first year.

AN INVITATION TO LEAD

Somewhere right now there is a student wondering if they’ll find their people. A first-generation student unsure who to ask. A sophomore who feels the ground shift beneath them.

Your support is the mentor who reaches out first. The campfire before the first class. The tradition that makes a stranger family.

Be the ’ray.