December, 2023
By Fatima Ayala, News Editor
We can all agree that support and a sense of direction is always helpful, especially when starting high school. Thankfully for KIPP, we have partnered with an organization called Upward Bound giving just that to their students.
For most people reading this, this might be their first time hearing about Upward Bound, but in essence it’s a college-access program. Upward Bound assists high school students in preparing for college, and supports students who are considered first-generation to attend college.
One of the coordinators that work for Upward Bound is Miss Melody Cantu and has been able to give me an in depth on their mission which is “The main goal of the program is for students to not only apply to college, but get accepted into college, enroll in college the fall semester after graduating from high school AND earn a college degree.” And they are able to follow through with their goal through various activities such as “providing academic case management (staff members meet with students to review grades, support success and work through academic challenges), offering test prep for TSI and ACT, holding a 6-week summer academy and taking students on visits to colleges (examples include: LSU, UTRGV, Rice, UNT).” Although it may seem that they are very academically heavy, Upward Bound ensures to make connections with their students and their family which is Miss Melody’s favorite part of the whole organization. “I love that students who may be the first in their family to attend college are a part of a community of students with similar experiences as they navigate the college application process. This is also nice for the loved ones (parents/guardians/siblings) supporting their student in preparing for college with other families and the Upward Bound team, as well.” They are also able to connect with students through fun activities such as “ fun field trips like Six Flags, Destin Florida (nice little addition to our visit to LSU this past summer), movies and the lake just to name a few”.
The coordinators aren’t the only one’s feeling like this either. Students, Emanuel Lopez (12th grade) and Kevin Martinez (9th grade) also agree. Emanuel has been participating in Upward Bound for about a year now meanwhile Kevin has only been a part of it for a couple of months and has allowed them to learn lots from Upward Bound as well. Kevin has even stated that the helpful meetings are his favorite parts of the program. “Just being in the meetings and sitting there learning and talking about college/universities or just about life in general on how i’m doing is nice.” For Emanuel the way Upward Bound has helped him the most was allowing him to network via programs and ease him to the college process. “They have helped me by introducing me to programs that will help me with the college process. They had sponsored me for a residential program at St. Edward’s where they had us stay in the dorms for three days and two nights. We were able to learn how to prepare for college through scholarship research and college essay workshops. I was also able to become acquainted with students all across texas”.
In all regards, if you are interested in joining this amazing program you can contact Melody Cantu, Upward Bound Academic Guidance Counselor – (512) 375-2206, melody.cantu@swkey.org or Jorge Segovia, Upward Bound Program Director – (737) 300-5243, jsegovia@swkey.org In the words of Emanuel “I highly recommend this program for the upcoming grade levels because they are really accommodating to everyone’s circumstance and they help you with preparing for college.”
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