There’s a new program at North called Upward Bound. It started here during the 2017-2018 school year and has also served three Saint Paul Public schools since 1989. Its mission is to provide opportunities for participants to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits.

The Upward Bound is a federal TRIO college readiness program serving students from limited income backgrounds and/or first generation students. The Upward Bound has provided: weekly after school tutoring, college campus visits, career and major exploration activities, ACT test preparations, college and scholarships application assistance, FAFSA support, cultural and community service field trips, a 6-week academic summer program, and individual academic advising.

They currently have 52 North students in the program. They had a busy summer with Upward Bound completing the summer program at Century College. Also, the seniors attended the Upward Bound trip to Boston, MA in July and the juniors and sophomores attended the Minnesota Business Venture Camp offered through BestPrep at St. John’s University.

Starting in November, Upward Bound will begin recruiting new freshmen. As the date gets closer, they will be sharing additional information. The Upward Bound will be held Mondays-Wednesdays in N206 after school beginning September 17th.

In an interview with the Upward Bound advisor, Bethany Sekora, she stated she has worked with College Possible for 2 years at a different high school and wanted to continue working in the college access field. Ms. Sekora was hired here because the Upward Bound office had received word that they could start a new program at North High. It was challenging for her because they had to recruit nearly 60 students to join (which was unique to being a new program — each year they typically recruit only 5-10 new students).

Ms. Sekoras first experience was in the summer of 2015 when she worked for an Upward Bound in Wisconsin. She started as an advisor with the Upward Bound Program here at North in November 2017.

She went to high school in southern Minnesota that had no college access programs like Upward Bound, so being in Upward Bound was not part of her educational experience. There are other Upward Bound advisors on their team, as well as their director, that are Upward Bound alumni.

A big shoutout to Upward Bound students and all involved with the organization. Good luck!