Vol. 19, No. 25

March 23, 2000

TRIO programs are having an impact on campus

Representatives of UD’s Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Student Support Services and the McNair programs celebrated National TRIO Day, Feb. 25, working at a kiosk in the Trabant University Center distributing information and giveaways. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, TRIO programs have helped qualified underrepresented students to apply, matriculate and graduate from college and to consider graduate school. Thanks to TRIO Programs, 2 million students have graduated from college. Among the TRIO programs on the UD campus are Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math/Science, housed in the Academic Services Center and designed to prepare underrepresented high school students for college. UD’s Upward Bound, one of the first programs in the nation, has been on campus since 1966 and is coordinated by Barbara Thomas. It has served more than 3,000 high school students in New Castle County who have shown academic promise, are potential first-generation college students or meet income requirements. Upward Bound Math/Science, coordinated by Lysbet Murray, is a relative newcomer, coming to campus in 1992, and has served approximately 160 students. Like Upward Bound, it is designed to help first-generation college students and students who meet income requirements, and also those with disabilities, to get a head start on college life. This program’s focus is on math and science, and it serves a larger region, including all of Delaware and adjoining areas in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The common goal of both programs is to give qualified students the guidance, the tools and the accessibility–and, the coordinators agreed, an occasional push in the right direction–to successfully acquire a college education. “We start looking for students in junior high school and when they are in high school. We bring our programs to them in community centers and high schools. The 45 students currently enrolled in the program have been recommended by teachers, guidance counselors and others working with young people,” Thomas said. The students receive tutoring and counseling on a weekly basis and meet monthly as a group for seminars and workshops. In addition, they take career-related trips to hospitals, courts and other places of interest. During the summer, 40 rising sophomores, juniors and seniors take part in a residential program on campus for five weeks, going home on weekends, Thomas said. The summer session is very structured with classes, study sessions and curfews. The program is geared toward liberal arts courses–English, math, science, Spanish and computer science. In addition to academics, students get a taste of life on a college campus, learn to use the library and write a research paper. The Upward Bound Math/ Science program offers a monthly workshop series during the academic year and a six-week residential program on campus for 50 eligible high school students, Murray said. Students take math and science courses, and an English course that is tied to scientific writing and encompasses such topics as women in science, ethics and the Internet. They also receive hands-on learning experience in science labs. One of their team projects is designing and building bridges. One of the highlights of the session is an overnight camp out in Baltimore, where students generally rough it in the outdoors, climb a rock wall and meet other challenges that bind them together. Both programs share cultural activities as well, such as attending a performance of The Lion King, and visiting the Smithsonian and the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and sites in Philadelphia. Another important part of both programs is parental participation and support. The two programs send newsletters and hold workshops to keep parents informed and involved. Many of the students in Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math/Science opt to come to the UD for college. The good news, Murray said, is that at the college level the Student Support Services Program, coordinated by Pam Edwards, is available to help these students with tutoring, academic and personal counseling or simply build them up if they are discouraged. Freshmen in the program also are each assigned a Peer Helper, an upperclass student in the Student Support Services Program, who serves as a mentor and to help with the problems freshmen generally encounter. For promising minority or low-income students with an interest in graduate school, another TRIO program, the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, directed by Michael Stokes and coordinated by Maria Palacas, arts and science, provides guidance and opportunities to further their studies. The Upward Bound programs are ongoing and self-perpetuating, Thomas pointed out, with many of the graduates coming back during the summer to work as RAs in the residence halls with the new students, a way of giving back to the program which has helped them achieve their goals. –Sue Moncure