{"id":2513,"date":"2016-02-21T15:50:37","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T00:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communications.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us\/wpmu\/?p=2513"},"modified":"2016-02-21T15:50:37","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T00:50:37","slug":"upward-bound-at-nikiski-middle-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/2016\/02\/21\/upward-bound-at-nikiski-middle-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Upward Bound at Nikiski Middle High School"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Upward<\/a>
Upward Bound students on a Major Marine tour in Seward<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\u201cMy grades are the best they\u2019ve ever been.\u201d <\/em>— Angel, sophomore
\n\u201cIt\u2019s made me make more responsible decisions and think seriously about my life.\u201d \u2013<\/em>\u00a0Kaitlyn, junior
\n\u201cIt has helped me expand my options and shown me other things that I can do to achieve the goals I want to achieve. I now know how much more important my grades are and it has helped me have extra time to work on my schooling and get ready for my future.\u201d<\/em> \u2013\u00a0Seyara, junior
\n\u201cIt\u2019s helped me stay focused in school, helped me keep my mind set on what my goals are and it\u2019s taught me the steps to achieve my goals.\u201d<\/em> \u2013\u00a0Corin, senior
\n\u201cI’ve learned life lessons and skills that I will hold onto and remember: like working and talking to people you normally wouldn’t, being a leader in a crowd, the importance of my decisions now, and time management.\u201d \u2013<\/em>\u00a0Destiny, senior
\nWhat are all of these students referring to? Their experience as a participant in Upward Bound.
\nUpward Bound is a federally funded U.S. Department of Education TRiO program hosted in ten high schools throughout the state of Alaska. Nikiski Middle-High School (NMHS)<\/a> is fortunate enough to be one of those ten schools. In order to qualify as an Upward Bound participant, students must meet certain criteria including coming from a low income household and, or being a first generation college student. The program is designed to offer motivated students extra support and guidance throughout high school as they prepare to enter post-secondary education. Upward Bound really opens doors for students. When students were asked what they have learned about as participants in Upward Bound, they stated that they\u2019ve learned about all sorts of\u00a0college-related topics including scholarships, college entrance exams (ACT, SAT), the college application process, the FAFSA and student loans, study abroad opportunities, dorm-life, etc. Taylaur, a NMHS junior, sums it up when she said that, \u201cIn Upward Bound, students learn about adulting<\/em>.\u201d
\nAll of this adulting <\/em>focused education takes place at twice-weekly Upward Bound meetings. On Tuesdays, NMHS Upward Bound students work with their coordinator, Nicole Gaunt (Ms. G), covering college-related topics and checking in with their accountability partners to set and review progress towards their goals. Thursday meetings focus on grade checks and study hall. This emphasis on grades and goals are key as Upward Bound students are expected to strive for at least a 3.0 GPA. This past semester, NMHS\u2019s group celebrated when nine of 14 students made the honor roll!
\nFor their hard work and dedication, students are compensated both financially, with the chance to earn up to $40 month, as well as with opportunities to participate in the Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) project, in cultural fieldtrips and in the Upward Bound summer programs at UAF. The summer programs allow students to experience living and learning on a college campus while working on academics, earning high school and even college credit, and exploring what Fairbanks has to offer.
\nWhile the summer programs are the icing on the cake, a lot of work goes into the day-to-day challenge of maintaining good grades as a high school student while preparing for the future.\u00a0 When NMHS Upward Bound students were asked to describe how participating in the school-year Upward Bound program with Ms. G has impacted their lives, a few common themes shine through: positivity, opportunity, encouragement and support.
\n\u201cUpward Bound has taught me that getting help is okay.\u201d \u2014 <\/em>Avery, junior
\n\u201cIt has helped me reach my goals because I feel like I can get help from any of the people in there. I always feel welcome and all of them help each other stick to our goals. It has helped me have inspiration to keep my grades up.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Lauren, junior
\n\u201cBeing in Upward Bound has given me the drive to pay more attention in my life, and focus on the goals I set.\u201d \u2013 <\/em>Lochlan, junior
\n\u201cThere\u2019s just something about encouragement, and someone else wanting you to do something that is motivating and confidence building. My advisor cares about my success in life, and has helped me acquire skills and strategies to use while in college and beyond.\u201d\u2014<\/em> Destiny, senior
\n\u201cIt’s helped me to try really hard to keep my grades up and apply for college. It\u2019s given me a nice push.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Shayne, senior
\nSometimes we all need that little push to set and work towards our future goals. Nikiski Middle-High School is very proud of our Upward Bound students and program. It is inspiring to watch as these students to learn and grow, transitioning from high school and adolescence into college and adulthood.
\nStory contributed by Nicole Gaunt, School Counselor, NMHS<\/a>
\n
\"Upward<\/a>
Upward Bound students showing off their new UB swag thanks to GCI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy grades are the best they\u2019ve ever been.\u201d — Angel, sophomore \u201cIt\u2019s made me make more responsible decisions and think seriously about my life.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Kaitlyn, junior \u201cIt has helped me … Continue reading “Upward Bound at Nikiski Middle High School”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,20],"tags":[727,1072],"class_list":["post-2513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-partners","category-school-stories","tag-nikiski-middle-high-school","tag-upward-bound"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}