Upward Bound students claim awards for summer program activities

Kesha Williams
July 29, 2013 Area students who participated in the Upward Bound Summer Academic Component gathered on July 19 for their awards ceremony in the Walter N. and Henrietta B. Ridley Student Complex. Their summer sessions were held June 9 – July 19. Class topics included science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with a special emphasis on robotics. Ms. Quay Dozier, director of Special Programs at ECSU and other Upward Bound staff members, organized a summer program that included the creation of a mock-robotics business, the development of a robot and a friendly robot performance competition. Elizabeth City native Donald McCoy, a retired engineer for IBM, was a guest presenter during their robotics sessions. The students also participated in an Upward Bound International Project – &quotLittle Dresses for Africa, a non-profit 501c3, Christian organization, which provides relief to the children of Africa. Simple dresses are made out of pillow cases, and distributed through the orphanages, churches and schools in Africa. The local chapter of National Council of Negro Women sponsored the project so local Upward Bound students could design and make dresses for Mali girls in West Africa. Upward Bound is a program that is supported by the U.S. Department of Education. It provides academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, composition, literature, and foreign languages. Tutoring, counseling, mentoring, cultural enrichment, work-study programs, education or counseling services are designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students. Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of post-secondary education.