072511 Program nurtures first generation college students
By Sharon Haught
July 18, 2011
294
Summary: For six weeks this summer each student in the Upward Bound program lives the life of a college student while preparing to become one themself.
For many students, particularly those who come from low income homes with families that never had the opportunity to attend college, higher education can be an elusive dream.
An innovative program known as Upward Bound is doing its best to make the college dream a reality for these students.
Upward Bounds goal is to increase in these students the skills and motivation needed to enter and succeed in postsecondary education, said Gail Miller, who serves as Director of the Upward Bound program based at Ohio State ATI, adding that the program is designed to help eligible students overcome academic, personal, financial and cultural barriers to higher education.
Initiated in 1992, the local Upward Bound program serves 58 students during the academic year and 40 students during the summer from Orrville, Wooster, Timken, McKinley high schools.
The array of services provided to the students is vast and includes academic advising, tutoring, curriculum instruction, cultural enrichment, college information, career exploration, standardized test preparation, financial aid advising and personal counseling. The program also pays for the students test and college application fees and provides each student with a stipend for participating in the program.
According to Miller during the academic year each participating school has an in-school mentor who conducts weekly meetings and monitors the students progress. Upward Bounds staff advisor also provides weekly individual academic advising to the students.
The program also sponsors family meetings several times a year to help guide students and parents alike through the often confusing process of preparing for college.
What were trying to do is get them ready for college, make sure they are going to be in a good position to get into college and to get scholarships, said Miller adding getting into college is easy compared to paying for it and to sticking it out once you do get in.
The program is making a difference in kids lives.
Theyre breaking the cycle because once they get their college education life is going to change for them and their families, said Miller.
It changes the mindset, said Miller adding that for the next generation it becomes a matter of where, not whether, they attend college.
One of the highlights of the program is a six week residential program where students see what college life is like through an on-campus experience.
For the first five weeks of the summer intensive students attend academic classes in core subject areas such as science and math. An array of electives ranging from physical education and foreign languages to video production and music are also available.
To widen their experiences students also have the opportunity to hear from guest speakers including successful professionals who were once in their shoes and participate in field trips to local colleges, an Ohio Light Opera performance, the Wilderness Center and Zoar. Students even learn the importance of giving back to the community by volunteering their time at Horn Nursing Home, the YMCAs Camp Cool and Lifes Little Adventures animal rescue facility.
The culmination of the summer experience is the final week of the program when the students visit six colleges in five days including the University of Pittsburg, Carnegie Mellon, University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio University and Wright State University and take part in field trips to the Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh Zoo, Underground Railroad Museum and Air Force Museum.
The Upward Bound program is fully funded through a $287,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Participation in the program is free of charge to eligible students.
For more information on ATIs Upward Bound program visit www. atiub.osu.edu.
