Upward Bound
Davis & Elkins College offers summer programs for students
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Upward Bound students took part in an African Drumming session this week at Davis & Elkins College. Students Mackenzie Moore, Arn Mabry and Mallori McCoy receive instructions from drumming instructor Laurie Goux.
ELKINS -- Each summer a select group of high school students are chosen to take part in two seperate Upward Bound programs offered at Davis & Elkins College.
The two programs include the Classic Summer Program, which is for rising high school juniors and seniors, and the Bridge Program that is designed for select high school graduates. Both are available to students from Randolph, Barbour, Pendleton, Pocahontas and Tucker counties.
To qualify for Upward Bound, neither of the students' parents can have a four-year college degree. Students must also meet income guidelines and have a desire to further their education after high school. The program's goal is to guide low-income, first-generation Appalachian high school students to post-secondary success.
Students who take part in the program are four times more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than those of similar backgrounds who don't participate in Upward Bound.
Most of the 95 students taking part in this summer's session are enrolled in the six-week Classic Summer Program, which is designed to guide and prepare students not only for success in college, but life as well.
Those taking part in the Classic Summer Program get a taste of what college life is all about before they ever graduate from high school. And it all begins on Day 1 of the program when they move into college dormitories.
Over the next six weeks those students will attend academic classes during the day and participate in social, cultura and wellness classes throughout the evening.
All of the classes students attend are designed to prepare them for high school completion and college preparation. Students also participate in a digital or virtual learning experience during the summer months to continue preparing for college. Field trips include college visits, community service, career day and a cultural trip.
The students visited Pierpont Community and Technical College in Fairmont during Week 2 of the program, and trips are planned to Concord, Marshall and Berea during a week-long excursion that will conclude the Classic Summer Program session.
"This is the rising high school juniors and seniors' last week on campus," Upward Bound TRIO Programs Director Carol Suder-Howes told The Inter-Mountain on Wednesday. "They will finish up their academic coursework this week and they will then depart on a trip next week that we are calling our 'Appalachian Tour' where we visit several different places."
On Day 1 of the trip, students will arrive in Charleston on Monday where they will visit Saltworks, the State Capitol and the Cultural Center Museum. Several other stops are planned for the week, including a visit to the New River Gorge.
This summer's community service was done at Tyrand Ministries in Mill Creek, where the students painted buildings, re-organized items, put up a fence and built a handicap ramp.
Career Day was held this week and students visited sites all over Elkins, including stops at Davis Medical Center, Randolph County Probation Office, Elkins Physical Therapy, Appalachian Animal Hospital and Youth Health.
"We had students out in the community touring different businesses during Career Day," said Suder-Howes. "We actually split the day into two halves this year. Part of the day was for students to go over their career-interest inventory, while the second half was for them to go out and visit different locations around town."
The Bridge Program, meanwhile, is to help students jumpstart their post-secondary education and ease their transition into college life. Students taking part in the Bridge Program are offered up to two college courses at Davis & Elkins College during one of the college's summer terms.
Students can earn up to six college credits with the Bridge Program. With the support of Davis & Elkins College, all expenses are paid, including room, board, books and tuition. Students live in dorms, have a meal plan and participate in college preparatory workshops and tutoring with the program.
"The Bridge Program students are currently on campus and that program won't conclude until July 14," said Suder-Howes. "Those students are taking six hours of college credits and they are getting some exposure for prepping for college."
One of this year's resident coordinators, Alicia Kelley, went through both of the programs and said the experience has been key to her success at Davis & Elkins College, where she will graduate next spring.
"If it wasn't for Upward Bound I wouldn't have even known how to apply for college or do the FAFSA," she said. "Without the programs, I would have never been as prepared as I was for college. And even after you complete the programs and move on to college, they are still there for you. The people at Upward Bound are always just a phone call away for you."
An awards ceremony and luncheon for the students will take place today at the Senate Commons area of the Myles Center beginning at noon. For more information about Upward Bound, visit deupwardbound.org or call 304-637-1989.