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Bound to succeed-Program helps disadvantaged students develop the skills necessary for college

College isn’t automatic for some
students.

They don’t get to check out colleges
with their parents to see if the
schools are a good fit.

By TARA DOWD of the Missoulian

They don’t spend hours studying for
the SAT exam, or sweating over
financial aid forms. Instead, they
worry about getting a full-time job
and maybe, just maybe, getting into
a tribal or community college.

But for these disadvantaged students, higher education needn’t be just a dream. For six weeks each
summer it becomes a reality through a hands-on crash course in college life called Upward Bound.

It worked for Eileen Henderson, who never thought she could go to college until Upward Bound
brought her to the University of Montana for the summer. Henderson, 18, graduated this spring from
Browning High School.

"I don’t think I’d be going to college if it wasn’t for Upward Bound," said Henderson, who is in her
fourth year with the program.

Henderson now plans to go to Blackfeet Community College for a year to get her basic classes out of
the way, then transfer to the University of Montana.

For 38 years, the Upward Bound program at UM has been helping high school students develop the
type of good study and lifestyle habits that will help them graduate and go on to college. UM’s
program is one of six in Montana and more than 800 in the nation.

The students take math, English and science classes, as well as one elective, which can be
computer science, Blackfeet language or journalism. The rigorous schedule starts with a group
meeting, then classes by 9 a.m. Classes end at 3:30 p.m. except on Monday and Wednesday, when
classes run until 5 p.m.

Students who complete the Upward Bound coursework go on to the Bridge program, which helps
recent high school graduates prepare for college. They attend UM’s freshman orientation, attend
summer college classes and take a college survival class with one of the Upward Bound teachers.

Life at Upward Bound is busy, much like on any other campus: Kids coming and going to classes
and leaving on field trips. Kids coming and going to lunch or playing a game of basketball. Kids
hanging out in the lobby playing solitaire on the computer or just chatting around a picnic table.

Bridge coordinator John Nasset, 22, has been involved with Upward Bound for six years. He started
out as a student and then moved up to counselor and then coordinator.

Missoula-raised Nasset will graduate from UM this winter with a bachelor’s degree in geography and
a goal of becoming a digital cartographer. His two brothers also went through Upward Bound and
have already graduated.

Nasset has come back every summer because he loves the students and he believes in the
program’s success.

"Judging from my own experience, it is successful," Nasset said. "I see myself in a lot of these kids:
low-income, first-generation college kids. I think without Upward Bound, I don’t know if I would be in
college today."

Nasset thinks the program is valuable to teen-agers for several reasons.

"It gives them the opportunities that they might not have in the place they live," Nasset said.

Nasset’s job is to get students familiar with the college process. He helps them enroll in summer
classes. He discusses areas of interest that could become majors. He gives them a crash course on
campus life.

Jon Stannard, Upward Bound director, also has a long history with the program. He started out as a
program counselor and became its director in the early 1980s.

Stannard said his goal is to reach the groups of people most often affected by poverty and low
incomes such as American Indians and Missoula’s Hmong community.

"This is to prepare them for their eventual entrance into college," Stannard said. "We are all about
helping them be successful."

Upward Bound is not just a summer program, Stannard said. The program offers services throughout
the academic year such as tutoring, academic advising, career counseling and college preparation.

The students who come are dedicated to making their life better, he said.

"Some of these kids give up summer jobs and money they need – they’re poor – to come here and
take classes all day," Stannard said. "Why? Because they really want to go to college."

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