This semester, we have offered a plethora of events and activities from college visits to mentoring and tutoring to cultural experiences to career opportunities. We focused on career exposure by visiting the Ivy Tech nursing program in Lawrence where students were able to experience simulated health situations. We also toured Penske and explored the variety of career options available there. At Dress for Success, the young ladies learned about resumes and interviewing while being fitted with business apparel. Our young men had a similar experience at Success Wear. Many students attended an etiquette dinner at Ivy Tech, and we learned how to properly eat soup and steak. Upward Bound also offered some cool cultural activities such as having authentic Korean BBQ at Mama’s and listening to Black Violin at Butler University. We held our first mini-conference with keynote speaker Leslie Johnson of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. The conference concluded with College Signing Day during which seniors declared they were college bound by committing to a college of their choice. Whew! We have all accomplished so much in a short amount of time.
We had many causes for celebration this spring as well. Congratulations to: Mykah Coleman for taking gold at State for flute and choir, Lorielle Obioha for hosting her first fashion show at Shortridge High School, Aldo Medina for being accepted into the LEDA program at Princeton University where he will study this coming summer, and Evelyn Serrano and Keilynd Perry for successfully completing their study abroad experience in Thailand. And of course, special congratulations to our seniors who graduated this semester and were all accepted into the colleges of their choice. Their accomplishments are highlighted later in this newsletter.
Not only did our Upward Bound students do amazing things that need to be celebrated but also our college staff. Mayra Rodriguez was recently recognized at IUPUI for a student employee award, and Jade Nevils received the Christine Jakacky Mentor of the Year Award.
Jade and Alexandra Murphy were both accepted to the Sankofa Journey, which affords them the opportunity to visit the West Africa country of Ghana for three weeks in May. Lastly, Thembi Ndebele graduated with her bachelor's degree from IUPUI.
Sadly, we said goodbye to both Ms. Esther and Mr. Denzel as they both transitioned to career opportunities that were a better fit for their families. We wish them well in their new adventures and know their hearts are with all of us. During this transition, Ms. Melida Gutierrez was promoted to assistant director, and two new academic coordinators, Mr. DeVol Tyson II and Mr. Derrick Rogan, were hired; they will start this summer. In the meantime, they all have written introductions, which are included in this newsletter.
As the spring semester and school year come to an end, another Summer Academy is gearing up to begin. So with pride in our past year's achievements, we look forward with anticipation to what is ahead—to the experiences and learning and opportunities that lie before us. Nicely done, UB family. Carpe diem!