Taste of college starts this week for high school students in Upward Bound

Dr. Maggie Smith-Bruehlman, CSC Upward Bound director, said students have been participating in the program, which introduces them to college life, for 6 years. 

The students live with a roommate in Edna Hall during the week for the month of June, attend classes, have meals in the cafeteria, and engage in afternoon options such as yoga, dance, cooking, marital arts, and Frisbee golf. They are driven home each Friday afternoon and picked up each Sunday evening to return to campus.

The class schedules resemble a college schedule with core classes in math, science, literature, composition and foreign language.

This year, recent CSC student Doris Liang is teaching Chinese. Liang has taught English in China and said she is looking forward to this new opportunity.

Electives include conflict resolution, ACT prep, financial literacy and planning for success.

Activities include horseback riding at Chadron State Park, touring the Museum of the Fur Trade, the water slide at Camp Norwesca and swimming in Chadron.

Chadron High School 2013 graduate Weslee Jackson said he has been part of Upward Bound for five years and this is his fourth summer program. His sister, Gina participated in the program for three years.

“It’s good to meet new people and have different experiences,” said Jackson who was voted the Senior of the Year by his classmates for his volunteer work in the community.

He plans to take Chinese and composition as part of his schedule. His parents, Nicola and Cecil Jackson, are pleased that the program has shown their children that continuing their education can be fun and that extracurricular activities can be beneficial.

“These things broaden their horizons and make them look at education differently,” Cecil Jackson said.

Nicola Jackson said the program gets the students ready for college and lets them experience some free time on their own while still under the watchful eye of program staff.

Classes end June 28 followed by an awards banquet that evening in the Student Center ballroom including a talent show and an art show.

The group leaves June 29 for their summer trip in Colorado. The first stop will be in Idaho Springs for a river raft excursion followed by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Art Museum plus a dinner theatre and several other recreational venues and higher education campuses.