The U.S. Department of Education has announced that Genesee Community College’s TRiO Upward Bound Program will receive a five-year, $1.5 million federal Upward Bound grant for both Genesee and Wyoming Counties ($3 million total) to help more low-income students who would be the first members of their families to earn degrees, to prepare for and enroll in college.
Upward Bound is an intensive intervention program that prepares students for higher education through various enrichment courses. At least two-thirds of the students in each local Upward Bound program are from low-income economic backgrounds and families in which neither parent has a bachelor’s degree. GCC’s Upward Bound program services seven schools in Genesee and Wyoming Counties.
Many Upward Bound alumni have gone on to great success, among them Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis, Correspondent for ABC News John Quinones, and Hall of Fame NBA player Patrick Ewing.
“We are so pleased to be able to provide these vital services to the students of Genesee and Wyoming Counties. Without Upward Bound, many underprivileged students might lack some of the opportunities or skills needed to obtain a college degree,” said Lisa Krause, director of Upward Bound Programs at GCC.
Campus-based Upward Bound programs provide students instruction in literature, composition, mathematics, science, and foreign language during the school year and the summer. Upward Bound also provides intensive mentoring and support for students as they prepare for college entrance exams and tackle admission applications, financial aid and scholarship forms.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 86% of Upward Bound participants enroll in postsecondary institutions immediately following high school graduation. In fiscal year 2021, more than 70,000 students enrolled in 966 Upward Bound TRiO projects in the United States.
In 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act established Upward Bound as a pilot program in response to the War on Poverty. It was the first of seven federal “TRiO” programs to later be authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success, bolsters students from low-income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had, and helps remove obstacles preventing students from thriving academically.
“As systemic inequality and financial hardship discourage students from succeeding in college, TRiO programs like Upward Bound take on new importance because they continue to help students who are low-income and first-generation to earn college degrees,” said Maureen Hoyler, president of the non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in Washington, D.C. COE is dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities nationwide.
As of 2021, over 3,000 TRiO projects serve approximately 855,000 participants yearly. TRiO projects are in every state and territory in the nation.
For more information, contact Vice President, Development and External Affairs, Justin Johnston at 585-345-6809, or via email at jmjohnston@genesee.edu.
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