Upward Bound Summer Academy Is in Full Swing

Indianapolis, IN (July 2014)—Seventy-seven high school students have been participating in the Upward Bound Summer Academy program at IUPUI during June and July. These students spent six weeks on the IUPUI campus, living in residential housing, taking academic classes, participating in community events and much more. They were provided academic skill instruction in math, science, and language arts to help them prepare for their high school classes in the fall. To end the Summer Academy program, next week qualified students will take a five-day trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where they will visit two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), a state higher education institution, and several cultural venues.

A small component of the Summer Academy is the work-study Pre-Professional Internship program in which qualified students are exposed to a professional work environment, gain work experience, and explore career interests and the opportunities that various professions offer. This summer, 20 rising seniors in the Summer Academy program were selected to participate in the internship program. They were required to apply and go through an interview process with potential employers. Internship selections were based on compatibility between the students and the work they would be doing and the majors they hope to pursue. The students worked in different schools across campus such as the National Institute for Fitness and Sport (NIFS), IU School of Informatics, IU School of Dentistry, IU School of Social Work, IUPUI School of Science, IU School of Public and Environmental Affair (SPEA), IUPUI University College, IUPUI Center for Research and Learning, IUPUI Office of External Affairs, IU Indianapolis School of Law, and an off-campus site at the City of Indianapolis Office of Education Innovation.

The Upward Bound program runs year-round, with eight Indianapolis high schools participating in the program: Broad Ripple, Arsenal Technical, Arlington, Northwest, Warren Central, Emmerich Manual, Indianapolis Metropolitan, and Thomas Carr Howe. One hundred and twenty-seven students participated in the Upward Bound program last school year (2013-14). Students meet every other Saturday for instruction and tutoring, and academic counseling is available to all participants. Students and their parents are assisted with the preparation of college applications and financial aid forms. Through participation in this program, students are also exposed to new academic, social, and cultural learning experiences. The students visit in-state college campuses during the school year such as IU Bloomington, Purdue, Ball State University, and Indiana State University and several out-of-state regional campuses in the summer.  

Upward Bound celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year. The Upward Bound program was launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Serving qualified ninth- and tenth-grade high school students from low-income families and high school students who intend to enter postsecondary education after high school and are from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree, this national college preparatory program is designed to assist students with the development of their academic skills and to provide guidance for success beyond high school including attending college. The Upward Bound program exists in nearly 1,000 rural and urban U.S. communities.