One of the great rewards of my job as a U.S. Senator is the opportunity to interact with motivated young people who have a good attitude and want to go out and make the world a better place. Thanks to the Upward Bound program, more of those students have a chance to go to college and achieve their goals.
For the past 50 years, Upward Bound has had a remarkable impact on the lives of high school students in Maine and across America. The program serves as an important guide for low-income students as they try to navigate the college admissions process and ultimately succeed in higher education.
Getting into college and graduating is difficult enough, but when neither of your parents has gone to college, the process can be downright daunting. Upward Bound helps familiarize low-income students whose parents did not attend college with the demands and opportunities that accompany collegiate life. Participating high school students spend time on college campuses during the summer and receive academic counseling during the school year. The experience equips the students with the skills they will need to succeed and opens up possibilities that they may not have previously imagined.
Upward Bound is one of eight federal programs administered by the Department of Education that target services to low-income, first-generation college students. The group, known as the TRIO programs, can trace their origins back to President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” As one of the original three TRIO initiatives, Upward Bound has been helping students for decades.
This is a wonderful program that has deep roots in Maine. There are a total of eight Upward Bound programs in the state, located at Bowdoin College, the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of Maine in Orono, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the University of Southern Maine. For those of you double-checking my math, UMO, UMPI, and USM all host two programs.
As one of the country’s inaugural programs, Bowdoin Upward Bound is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Just recently, I joined more than 50 participating students and staff on the campus in Brunswick to talk about the importance of higher education. The room was full of excitement and energy — a true testament to the power of this program and its ability to open doors for young people as they continue with their education.
It’s clear to me that this is a federal program that works. The success of past participants, including one of my Senate staffers, speaks to the positive impact Upward Bound can have. That is why I’m a member of the Congressional TRIO Caucus, and why I’ve been steadfast in my support of the appropriations for the program. My discussion with the students from Bowdoin Upward Bound only reinforced that support.
The most resounding and meaningful endorsement came from one young man at the Bowdoin event. He came up to me afterwards, very quietly, and said, “I just want to thank you for supporting this program, it’s changed my life.”
It doesn’t get any better than that.
