UPWARD BOUND Newsletter, April 2020 A word from our “new” Director ~

Michael “Mike” Craighead….Greetings Upward Bound Family!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.- Charles Dickens, A Tale of two cities.

As many of you know, I was recently selected as the Director of YOUR Upward Bound Program. Of Course, I would’ve loved to have started this journey on a very positive note. Corona Virus and the new reality that we face wasn’t having any of that. I still remain resilient and determined to make Upward Bound the best possible experience for YOU!

I am not deterred or discouraged because I know the strength of my U.B. Family! Upward Bound is all about overcoming the seemingly impossible obstacles that sometimes arise to obstruct our view. We will prevail, you will return to normalcy in the very near future, and we as a family will continue this journey together. All the while learning from each other, laughing with each other, and loving one another.

There are so many new things that I want to introduce to you. We have a number of new things that the Upward Bound Supreme Dream Team had already discussed and had begun developing. Let’s stick to the mission and continue fighting for the things that you want and deserve in life.

There are a number of you that have already joined us on Facebook. If you haven’t then please do so as soon as possible. We are still laying out the groundwork for the Summer and Bridge Programs. Feel free to message, call, text, email, or send telepathic messages. I/ we really want to hear from you and your parents soon! Until then, May the most positive of blessings be upon you!

Michael J. Craighead, M.S.

Director of Upward Bound Programs

Concord University

Top 10 Colleges in Upward Bound - Morgantown, WV - Huntington, WV

Shepherd University - Shepherdstown, WV

West Liberty University - West Liberty, WV

CU_Upwardbound West Virginia Wesleyan College - Buckhan- non, WV

Wheeling Jesuit University - Wheeling, WV

Fairmont State University - Fairmont, WV

Ohio Valley University - Vienna, WV

Davis & Elkins College - Elkins, WV

Concord_UB - Charleston, WV

upwardboundcu

APRIL Birthdays We want to wish all our students with Birthdays in April a very Happy Birthday!

Angelina Collier

Megan Steele

Shyanne Lilly

Skylar Brooks

Adison Meyers

Alexander Chan- dler STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Asia Porterfield

Rank School Name City State Net Cost School Level Retention Rate In-State Cost 1 Blue Ridge Community and Technical College Martinsburg WV $7,579 2 year 54.24% $336

2 West Virginia Northern Community College Wheeling WV $2,998 2 year 56.63% $2,664

3 Cabell County Career Technology Center Huntington WV $4,372 Vocational 97.22% $2,700

4 Community and Technical Mount Gay WV $6,576 2 year 48.72% $2,828 College

5 Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical Moorefield WV $3,036 2 year 50.91% $2,880 College

6 West Virginia University at Parkersburg Parkersburg WV $8,221 4 year 50% $2,928

7 Ben Franklin Career Center Dunbar WV $11,414 Vocational 15.6% $2,970

8 United Technical Center Clarksburg WV $6,797 Vocational 80% $3,200

9 Potomac State College of West Virginia University Keyser WV $7,020 4 year 42.47% $3,480

10 Mountwest Community and Technical College Huntington WV $6,224 2 year 46.61% $3,521

11 New River Community and Technical College Beaver WV $4,340 2 year 39.83% $3,564

12 BridgeValley Community & Technical College South Charleston WV N/A 2 year N/A $3,738

13 Pierpont Community and Technical College Fairmont WV $9,016 2 year 39.36% $4,440

14 Shepherdstown WV $9,074 4 year 68.2% $4,660

15 Glenville WV $13,376 4 year 65.14% $4,944

16 John D Rockefeller IV Career Center New Cumberland WV $9,495 Vocational 100% $5,294

17 Marshall University Huntington WV $8,738 4 year 72.69% $5,450

18 Bluefield WV $8,748 4 year 60.13% $5,832

19 American Public University System Charles Town WV N/A 4 year 76.23% $6,000

20 West Virginia University Institute of Technology Montgomery WV $7,325 4 year 53.36% $6,048

21 West Virginia State University Institute WV $8,870 4 year 57.87% $6,228

22 Fairmont State University Fairmont WV $8,717 4 year 63.56% $6,306

23 West Liberty WV $11,290 4 year 66.47% $6,415

24 Concord University Athens WV $7,224 4 year 66.67% $6,422

25 West Virginia University Morgantown WV $9,380 4 year 76.88% $6,960