Indiana Wesleyan University has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education to receive continued funding for its Upward Bound program, which benefits Grant County high school students who come from households that meet Federal Trio Programs income guidelines and/or students who would be the first in their families to attend college. Beginning Sept. 1, Upward Bound will receive $278,100 per year for the next five years, totaling nearly $1.4 million. IWU has received Upward Bound funding since 1995.
Upward Bound supports qualified students at Marion High School and Mississinewa High School as they prepare for college. The program provides year-round learning experiences and activities that may not normally be available to the participating students. They include academic advising, tutoring sessions, student workshops (e.g. instruction in various disciplines, help in completing the FAFSA, financial literacy), Saturday Sessions (e.g. exposure to cultural events, college visits) and a six-week summer residential experience designed to simulate college life.
“Upward Bound allows local students to see and experience opportunities that are oftentimes only heard about,” said Alicia Morrell, director of Upward Bound. “It allows them to become a part of an extended family that will work alongside them and their families as they prepare to be the first in their families to complete a college education.”
The renewed grant funding will go toward the continued implementation of the aforementioned services and activities that provide guidance and support to participating students as they prepare for college.
“It is my hope that every student who comes through IWU’s Upward Bound program will enter into, and be successful in obtaining, a college degree,” said Morrell. “I hope that Upward Bound makes a difference in their lives by helping them to understand how wonderful and unique they are and that they truly can create a future for themselves that entails whatever it is that they desire.”
For more information on IWU’s Upward Bound program, click here.