The Upward Bound staff have been hard at work to prepare for sending our seniors off in the right way. On May 11, 2019, we hosted our first ever College Signing Day. College Signing Day is a day meant to celebrate the success and accomplishments of our students choosing to go to college to further their education. Leslie Johnson, former WNBA basketball player, came and talked to our students about resiliency and never giving up even with everything that life throws your way. She definitely had some great words of encouragement for our seniors and families.
Our seniors officially told their friends and families where they will be attending this fall.
- 9 will attend IUPUI
- 7 will attend IU Bloomington
- 2 will attend Ivy Tech
- 1 will attend Marian
- 1 will attend Ball State
- 1 will attend Xavier University of Louisiana
- 1 will attend Wabash College
- 1 will attend Indiana State University
- 1 will attend University of Kentucky
College Signing Day was not the only celebration for them. On May 14, we hosted the Upward Bound Graduation. Seniors had the opportunity to be individually recognized; they were corded and received a certificate of completion. The cord signifies that the student successfully completed their senior year in our program. We also had three special awards: the Participation Award, the Academic Achievement Award, and the TRIO Excellence Award. The Participation Award is awarded to students who achieved over 70% attendance to Upward Bound events; our two winners were Kaycee Allison and Shawn Mclayea-Reado. The Academic Achievement Award was awarded to three students who will finish their high school career with a GPA above 4.0. Those students are Cierra Imel, Mya Pomales, and Taenisha Smith. The TRIO Excellence Award is awarded to a student who exemplifies excellence, collaboration, character development, and leadership. This year, it was awarded to Jada Payne.
Here are some accomplishments by this year’s class:
- Kaycee Allison—Forum Credit Union Scholarship
- Cierra Imel-Howe—Alumni Scholarship and the JROTC Moorehead Scholarship
- Aliyah Johnson—Norman Brown Diversity and Leadership Scholarship
- Jada Payne—Hudson and Holland Scholars Program
- Paul Perez—Athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky
- Karen Rodriguez—Hudson and Holland Scholars Program
- Michelle Sanchez-Rosas—Lily Endowment Scholarship
- Taenisha Smith—Service Award
The following students are 21st Century Scholarship recipients:
- Alejandra Castro
- Chania Freeman
- Cierra Imel
- Aliyah Johnson
- Sydne Minor
- LaNiah Ray-Reed
- Karen Rodriguez
The following students were accepted into the IU Groups program:
- Kaycee Allison
- Jada Payne
- Mya Pomales
- Leslie Rivas
- Karen Rodriguez