ESU Honors Upward Bound Participants and Graduates At Awards Ceremony

Posted by: admin on August 7, 2014, No Comments

Daniela Castro (right), a sophomore at East Stroudsburg High School North, is awarded a certificate from Thomas Suprys, an Upward Bound teacher, for having completed ESU’s six-week, Upward Bound summer project.

Upward Bound, found on college campuses throughout the country, including East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, is celebrating its 50th anniversary nationally since its birth through the enactment of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Upward Bound was one of three programs, including Talent Search and Student Support Programs known as TRIO, designed to combat income inequality and provide equal access to post-secondary education for first generation college students. Upward Bound provides extensive instruction, academic monitoring, tutoring, counseling and other support services throughout the summer and academic year. The program has graduated thousands of college students, including Oprah Winfrey, John Quinones, Angela Basset, Donna Brazile, Henry Bonilla, Viola Davis and Ken Leon.

ESU established Upward Bound on its campus in 1974. The program recruits students from the Pocono and Lehigh Valley area school districts and has been consistently funded by a federal grant and supported by East Stroudsburg University.

“We have a proud legacy, graduating hundreds of students and in working with local school districts and community partners to provide the academic and leadership skills necessary for college and life success,” said Uriel Trujillo, J.D., ESU project director and alumnus. “We are very proud of our students and their accomplishments.”

Eighteen high school seniors graduated this year from Upward Bound at ESU. These Upward Bound graduates are: Nadim Ammari, Megan Foglio, Dominique Jefferson, Jasmine Lewis, Daisy Lopez, Ashley Mateo-De La Rosa, Taila McNeil, Tatiana Mercado, Paulina Morocho, Samantha Neri, Te’Auna Patterson, Austin Rios, Christian Rosado, Katherine Simons, Gabriela Sympson, Banessa Tenezaca, Malik Thornton and Nshimirimana Zawadi. According to Project Upward Bound staff, these graduates will attend the following institutions this fall: East Stroudsburg University, Northampton Community College, Central Penn College, Lehigh University, DeSales University, King’s College, Wilkes University, the University of Pittsburgh, Pomona College and Villanova University.

On August 1, an awards ceremony was held on ESU’s campus where students were acknowledged for completing the six-week summer project. Special awards were given to the following students: Marcos Cano, Service Award; Paul Alicea, STAR Award; Marcos Bearfield, Leadership; Matthew Christoff, Progressive Involvement; Alicia Kakakios, UB Award; Esteban Garcia, Residence Life.

Upward Bound teaching faculty also were honored. Thomas Suprys was recognized for 20 years of service and Denise Chaytor-Zugarek was recognized for 10 years of service.

For more information about Project Upward Bound, contact Trujillo at 570-422-3476.