Low-income students head to college with Upward Bound
Students from Quad-City high schools are wrapping up another year of St. Ambrose University’s Upward Bound program with a trip to New York City.
Upward Bound — a program geared toward low-income high school students from the Quad-Cities — has made the path to college easier for hundreds of students the past 11 years. The program is free and offers things like study sessions and workshops year-round as a way to send as many students as possible to college.
The students meet during the school year, but live on-campus at St. Ambrose and attend college classes during the summer. Dail Rice, the program’s housing director, said it could be summed up as “college prep.”
“They attend classes each day. It’s really like a college setting,” he said. “When they go to college, it won’t be as big of a shock.”
Rice, a student at Western Illinois University, has been an Upward Bound staff member for two years and was part of the program for all four of his years at Rock Island High School.
Now, he oversees seven staff members and all 62 students who have signed up this year.
“I handle any problems that may arise,” he said.
The 2007 seniors of the program ended the year with a 100 percent college acceptance rate and a 94 percent enrollment rate. Sha’terika Perkins, a United Township High School graduate, received a full-ride academic scholarship from the University of Illinois.
“If it wasn’t for this program, I wouldn’t have known everything that I know,” she said.
Perkins joined with fellow United Township graduate Raney Cox, who also received a full-ride academic scholarship, from the University of Iowa.
Perkins and Cox agreed that the program was the perfect opportunity. The students said they learned about things like college credit and which classes to take their first year.
Davenport Central High School graduate Anthony Pulliam will attend the University of Iowa on a full-ride academic scholarship and — like Perkins and Cox — has been involved with the program since his freshman year.
“We all had the idea of going to college,” he said. “The program made us realize how much easier it would be.”
All 62 students live in the same building during the summer, further preparing them for future dorm life.
“We all get along,” said Sanjuana Perez, a four-year Upward Bound student who graduated from United Township. Perez will attend St. Ambrose in the fall on an Upward Bound scholarship.
The students leave for New York today as a reward for doing so well during the past year and also as another educational experience, Rice said.
“We want them to know that the Quad-Cities is not the center of the universe,” he added.
Rice said the program encourages students to keep at least a 2.5 gradepoint average next year, which is slightly above a C average.
“We would like to set the bar a little higher.”
To apply
Students can ask their high school counselors for information on Upward Bound, visit www.sau.edu or call (563) 333-6486 for an application.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.