Written by Carter Thweatt \/\/ Photo courtesy of Ashel Parsons<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purpose of Harding\u2019s Upward Bound program is motivating high schoolers to complete a college education. However, Stephanie O\u2019Brian said the program goes much deeper than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEighty-two percent of our students would be the first person in their family to go to college and come from lower-income households,\u201d O\u2019Brian said. \u201cSo part of our job is to help get them into college, but to me, my favorite part of my job is helping them become the very best version of themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Upward Bound program helps high school students, primarily those from disadvantaged backgrounds, by giving them the tools necessary to pursue a university degree. During the school year, this takes the form of 12 Saturday sessions in which students receive ACT prep, tutoring and lunch in the Harding cafeteria. During the summer, Upward Bound\u2019s 65 students will attend a six-week summer camp on Harding\u2019s campus designed to mimic the college experience. Junior Allie Nesbitt has worked the summer academy for the past two summers and said she always finds herself inspired by the kids in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really enjoy it,\u201d Nesbitt said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like a job to me. What\u2019s so cool to me about these kids is that they choose to sacrifice most of their Saturdays, and six weeks of their summer, to come and take classes to achieve their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of those who has gone through the Upward Bound program and now attends Harding is freshman Daicy Martinez. The examples she gave highlighted not only how Upward Bound helped her get into college, but how to succeed there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the biggest impacts was the preparatory classes they offer for the ACT,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWe learn how to tackle each section of the ACT, and that truly helps us succeed. Due to that prep, I made a 31 on the ACT and was nominated and picked for the Trustee Scholarship at Harding. I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to be in Upward Bound, and I would do it a million times again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides the academic impacts, Martinez also noted that Upward Bound gave her something more valuable: an encouraging and intentional community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe program gave me a second community that encouraged and supported me from day one,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThrough summer academy, I strengthened relationships with people I already knew, and I met a ton of people that I still keep in touch with now that I\u2019m out of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O\u2019Brian echoed the same sentiment \u2014 while Upward Bound does help students with academics and motivation, the family-oriented feel is what truly makes the program special.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of our kids will text us all the time and talk to us all the time,\u201d O\u2019Brian said. \u201cAnd so we get to navigate these really tumultuous teenage years alongside them. We are truly a family, and I love that so much.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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