Upward Bound Program Awarded $2.08M To Support Student Services / Programs

Posted by: admin on June 11, 2012, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University’s Upward Bound program received a $2.08M grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support its student services and programs. The grant will be awarded over a five-year period at $416,000 per year through 2018.

Upward Bound, a federal TRIO program, is a highly successful, college-based program of rigorous academic instruction, individualized tutoring and counseling for high school students who are the first generation in their families to consider post-secondary education. The program is designed to assist students in gaining the skills and motivation necessary to complete a secondary education and to enter and succeed in post-secondary education programs.

“We were very excited to learn that the Upward Bound grant is being renewed for the next five years,” said Uriel Trujillo, Upward Bound project director.

“Since 1974, ESU’s Upward Bound has graduated hundreds of students who have gone on to college and professional careers,” said Trujillo.

East Stroudsburg University became a host university to Project Upward Bound in 1974, and is one of more than 750 universities and colleges in the United States to host such a program. The program currently recruits from schools within the tri-county area of Monroe, Northampton and Lehigh.

Trujillo added, “While we are ecstatic about our success, we need to speak up on behalf of those students of promise whose academic potential may never be fully realized without the proper guidance and support of projects like Upward Bound.”

Upward Bound participants must be potential first-generation college students, low- income individuals, or individuals who have a high risk for academic failure and a need for academic support in order to successfully complete a program of education beyond high school. Types of aid and assistance offered by Upward Bound include:

  • academic tutoring;
  • assistance and advising in course selection;
  • preparation for college entrance exams;
  • preparation for admissions applications;
  • information on loans, scholarships and grant awards;
  • guidance on secondary school re-entry and other alternate education options; and,
  • education to improve economic literacy and instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, foreign languages, composition, and literature.

For more information, contact Uriel Trujillo, Upward Bound project director, at utrujillo@esu.edu or 570-422-3509.