Program helps prepare students
for college life
By Heather Holman
Summer
Reporter
Upcoming high school juniors are spending their summer
here at Purdue, experiencing what college life is all about through the
Upward Bound Program.
"It's a program for kids that could use a little
support," Cheryl Berry, program director of the Upward Bound Program,
said.
The Purdue Calumet Upward Bound Program, which has
been around since1966, prepares high school students for college. The
program furnishes students with academic support, personal advising and
cultural enrichment.
If a high school student wishes to participate in
this program, there is a list of criteria that must be met. Students should
be a freshman, but sophomores or juniors are also accepted if they meet
the rest of the criteria. Students must meet the U.S. Department of Education's
eligibility guidelines, which include coming from a low-income family
and neither parent having graduated from college.
Students also have to be a legal citizen or permanent
resident of the U.S. and live in the Upward Bound target area: East Chicago,
Gary or Hammond. Lastly, students must want to attend college and follow
the curriculum of the Upward Bound Program.
When a student applies as a freshman, they begin
by taking summer classes followed by Saturday classes during their sophomore
year at the Purdue University Calumet campus.
The kids take classes such as literature, composition,
mathematics and science. Pati Campos, secretary of the West Lafayette
Upward Bound Program, said students take about three classes and go home
around noon.
After a student's sophomore year, they come to the
West Lafayette campus for the summer before they return to school as juniors.
Campos said there are 23 students living here this
summer. While here, the students participate in a number of things.
They take five classes during the summer: math, Spanish,
a composition English class and two electives. The students can choose
between a magazine production class, biology, aviation and a class called
"Born to Win", which is a class that helps students deal with their self-esteem.
The participants get to use the Recreation Sports
Center, libraries and computer labs. They also get to go on weekend outings,
such as a canoeing trip, a visit to the amusement park, Kentucky Kingdom
and a college tour.
"It gives them something to do," Campos said. "It's
not all academics, there are fun things that keep them interested."
After the summer the students return to Saturday
school and the following summer take classes at Purdue University Calumet.
When a student reaches their senior year of school, they must still attend
Saturday classes.
"They have continuing Saturday classes for three
years," Campos said.
Throughout the three years the program offers career
seminars, college admission, financial aid and special interest workshops.
Berry said the students also get to take field trips. "We’ll take
them to college fairs or student leadership programs," she said.
"These kids come an area that is economically depressed,"
Berry said. She said the program is beneficial because a lot of the students
come from families that haven't gone to college. This program helps not
only the children prepare for college, but also the parents, she said.
Berry said the parents might not know how to go about
applying for financial aid or applying to colleges, because they have
never done it themselves.
The Upward Bound Program is only one of the seven
Federal TRIO Programs, Berry said. When the program first stared there
were only three programs. The program continued to grow, but the name
was kept because so many people were familiar with the original name.
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