Each Kent State TRIO Upward Bound Program received a 4.25% increase this year. This increase will be used to augment educational opportunities and diminish social, academic, cultural and socio-economic barriers for our participants seeking entrance into and success in post-secondary education. Additionally, our team was awarded two supplemental coding grants providing students with a rigorous software development boot camp to foster basic, intermediate and advanced skills.
Educational opportunities were abound in December when our three Upward Bound programs joined forces to host a Mingle and Jingle holiday event for our families. More than 200 participants spent their morning engaged in enrichment programming. Cortland Bank provided parents with financial planning guidance and each family with a $15 Walmart gift card to supplement holiday expenses, while Akron Summit Community Action led a conversation about secrets to tax completion. At the same time, our students heard from Hope United with a focused conversation on Addiction Awareness and some real talk about college led by an Upward Bound alumni panel.
Looking for ways to support our Upward Bound family? Celebrate TRIO Day on February 23 with our Kent State University TRIO family: McNair Scholars, Student Support Services, and Upward Bound Programs; and ‘save the date’ for our Senior Celebration planned for Thursday, May 23.