In its first year, the University's new associate's degree program has taken root and is thriving in the park city.
These are first-generation students. What has been most meaningful for me this year is that they’ve learned to trust us, to reach out when they are struggling. Seeing their God-given potential and reminding them, ‘You are worthy. You are capable,’ has given our students the confidence to meet challenges. What we’ve provided here will undergird them for the future.
— Pamela Tolbert-Bynum Rivers, EdD
A pioneering cohort of 46 students from the Greater Bridgeport region took a leap of faith last year and enrolled in Fairfield University’s new two-year associate’s degree program, Fairfield Bellarmine.
In September, the Class of 2025 arrived at Bellarmine Campus, located on the hilltop site of the former St. Ambrose parish in Bridgeport’s East End neighborhood, and began coursework toward majors in business, computer science, liberal studies, and health studies. Eighteen of them made the Dean’s List in their first semester.
Now halfway through the two-year program, the retention rate for the Class of 2025 stands at 98 percent. Students plan to either continue their studies toward a bachelor’s degree — at Fairfield or elsewhere — or embark on a professional career path after Fairfield Bellarmine’s first-ever Commencement Exercises, scheduled for May 18, 2025.
Interest in the program’s innovative curriculum and personalized support services is taking off. Applications for the incoming Class of 2026 are up 60 percent from a year ago, according to Nakia Létang, director of admission.
“Last year, we were fortunate to get these students to trust our vision for what did not yet exist,” said Létang. “Now, prospective students, families, school counselors, and community partners are able to come to Bellarmine Campus — to see and feel what we know is incredibly special about this place — and the news is spreading.”
Létang expects enrollment in the new cohort to surpass that of the inaugural class, while remaining within the maximum cohort size of 100 students. As currently envisioned, Bellarmine Campus will support a maximum of 200 students in total.
At the end of the spring semester, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Pamela Tolbert-Bynum Rivers, EdD, confirmed that the “tremendous growth and development of our first cohort of [now 44] students in just one short year” is a sign that the holistic education being offered at Fairfield Bellarmine “is working exceedingly well.”
“These are first-generation students,” Dr. Rivers said. “What has been most meaningful for me this year is that they’ve learned to trust us, to reach out when they are struggling. Seeing their God-given potential and reminding them, ‘You are worthy. You are capable,’ has given our students the confidence to meet challenges. What we’ve provided here will undergird them for the future.”
St. Ambrose Hall — the decommissioned church that now serves as a classroom building — is at the heart of teaching and learning on Bellarmine Campus.
One sunny day this past spring, as clusters of students sat outside at picnic tables, enjoying lunch and talking, a busload of prospective students from Danbury, Conn., filed into St. Ambrose’s study lounge for an information session with an admission counselor and several current undergraduates.
Esthefani Rojas Arias A’25 and classmates attend biology class in Fairfield Bellarmine’s Science Center.
As the session ended, computer science major Francisco Martinez A’25 paused in the hallway to chat.
Asked about his first-year experience, Martinez said, “This year definitely surpassed my expectations. I anticipated the rigorous coursework, but I never expected to find the community that has formed among my peers, the faculty, and the staff. Everybody is so connected — it’s like a big family.”
Martinez said his biggest challenge was learning to prioritize class assignments. Maintaining a workload calendar paid off — his first semester GPA was high enough for him to dream of becoming class Valedictorian next year.
After completing his associate’s degree, Martinez hopes to pursue a bachelor’s degree on the University’s North Benson campus. Fairfield has allocated 35 scholarships for Bellarmine students who aspire to continue their studies. Williams College and Albertus Magnus Collage have also partnered with Fairfield to offer similar transfer admission and scholarship opportunities.
“Right now, my biggest aspiration is to someday study abroad,” said Martinez. “I’ve been learning the Japanese language for two and a half years, and I would really love to study in Japan.”
Classmate Marissa Shanley A’25 graduated from Bridgeport’s Bullard Haven High School with Martinez, and also hopes to continue to the North Benson campus. In fact, she aspires to become a “triple Stag” by earning her master’s degree in cybersecurity after completing her associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in the School of Engineering and Computing.
Shanley is president of Fairfield Bellarmine’s newly formed student council. “The amazing Bellarmine faculty and staff made me feel so at home here, which gave me the confidence to take on this role,” she said.
One of the first initiatives Shanley is planning as council president is a new “Big Brother/Big Sister-style” mentoring program to welcome Bellarmine’s incoming Class of 2026. It will be “a way to make the new students’ adjustment to college life even better than ours was,” she said.
Francisco Martinez A’25 and Carl Delva A’25 review an assignment.
PeJay Lucky, assistant dean for student success, recently reflected on how the Fairfield Bellarmine program has evolved since the campus opened in September. “You can have all these plans going in, but you have to be open and present, even if you think you know who your students are,” he said. “The key for us was to constantly listen to what works and what doesn’t. We just had to be open.” The establishment of a Bellarmine student council was one result of that listening, as was the creation of the Divine Threads weekly Bible study group and the formation of the Sister Circle and the Brothers of Bellarmine — student mentoring groups that foster self-empowerment, connection, and support.
“We are busy talking about what our program will be like next year with two cohorts,” said Lucky. “The benefit of having a Bellarmine student council is that this time around, student voices are part of the planning process. Talking together, we learn from them and they learn from us — that’s the biggest thing.”
Guided by a support network of career and wellness counselors, faculty, and staff members, the students have made Bellarmine Campus their own. They’ve decorated the student lounge with flags of the nations they represent. They’ve found their favorite quiet places to study, and communal spaces to gather for meetings, conversations, and meals.
An afternoon shuttle transports students to the North Benson campus for opportunities to work out at the RecPlex, visit the DiMenna- Nyselius Library, cheer for the Stags at home games, and take part in clubs and activities. This past year, Bellarmine students joined the Fairfield University Student Association and Theatre Fairfield, and played club rugby and intramural volleyball, basketball, and tennis.
Together, the students of Fairfield Bellarmine have established themselves as key contributors to the University community.
“The first year has been all about welcoming people into this new learning environment,” said Kevin O’Brien, S.J., executive director and vice provost of Fairfield Bellarmine. “We set out to build a culture of care and a community dedicated to our common mission to make Jesuit higher education more accessible. At these things, we have succeeded.”
