UB MISSION Our mission is to provide the skills and motivation The UB Scholars’ Digest for low-income and first generation youth to be successful in high school Notes from the Director and to be able to enter and succeed in college. Greetings! Our 2014 Summer Academy was a tremen- With our largest group of seniors ever (40!) dous success! We expanded our orientation to there is much work to be done on college include more community building activities applications. We hosted a full day college which set a great tone for the summer. Stu- application event on Columbus Day and we dents climbed Mount Sugarloaf where they will do the same on Veteran’s Day. Lots of enjoyed a barbecue and a fabulous view of the additional volunteers make it possible for Senior Spotlight 2-4 Pioneer Valley. seniors to get a great deal done. Where are seniors applying? 5 An enthusiastic group of alumni joined us Three UB students have joined four returning during orientation and they have begun to get students as fulltime Northfield Mount Her- Summer Academy Collage 6 excited about our 50th anniversary which we mon boarding students, our largest NMH will celebrate in 2017. Community Action cohort ever! Our group meets weekly with Changes in the SAT 7-8 brought us The Brain Show, a one woman Josh Platt to learn more about preparing for comedy that helped us understand how our college and to support each other in navigat- Meeet our CC members 9 brain develops and works. ing the wonderful but complex boarding school environment. Parent’s Corner 10-11 Our students studied worker’s rights through their Humanities Classes, film series, and our We will begin recruiting our next group of annual Social Justice Conference. Our trip to freshman shortly. We continue to be grateful Alumni Spotlight 12-13 New York included a performance of Newsies, to all the people who work so hard to make a musical based on the newspaper boy strikes our program successful including our staff, 50th UB Celebration 14 in the early 1900’s. volunteers, our institution, donors and com- munity partners. Alumni Updates 15-18 Thirty of our students took a college Humani- ties class through a new Early College initia- As I head into the beginning of my year long Hope& Olive Fundraiser 19 tive and partnership with Greenfield Commu- term as President of the Massachusetts Educa- nity College. Students who completed the tional Opportunity Association, I look for- Dinner&Movie Fundraiser 20 class earned 3 college credits that many will ward to supporting professionals in educa- be able to transfer when they go to college tional access programs across Massachusetts. About UB 21 next year. Students developed analytical pa- Our programs continue to change lives in pers and presented on a topic related to profound ways and we will work hard to in- worker’s rights. They developed confidence in crease our reach and our impact. As our na- knowing they can succeed in college level tion celebrates the 50th anniversary of Upward work. They were impressive! Bound, it is a great time to renew and revital- ize our commitment to educational equity. Fall is always an energizing time at Upward Bound. We welcome our two new Common- wealth Corps members, Josh Platt and Emily Laufer. They will be serving with our pro- Best, gram for 10.5 months. They are already mak- ing a huge difference by helping with tutoring, advising, enrichment, college visits, newslet- ter, social media, book donation projects and more. Our Commonwealth Corps members Gisele Litalien bring passion, dedication, humor and hard work to the program. Special thanks to Emily Laufer for putting together our newsletter and to Josh Platt for his contributions. P a g e 2 Senior Spotlight Holyoke High School Ciara Prieto What is your favorite If you could have one subject and why? superpower, what I like math because I would it be and why? find it simple, like Well people always The UB Scholars’ Digest reading a book, but say knowledge is easier. power, so I What about Upward want as much knowl- Bound has been most edge as possible. helpful to you? What is your favorite I really like the envi- part of the college ad- Ciara has recently ronment, and the posi- missions process? been promoted to the tive energy. People are It will be the feeling of captain of the Holy- always encouraging accomplishment when oke High School Crew you to do better, and it is over. team. Ciara is the sec- there is always some- What advise do you ond oldest of four sib- one there to help. have for next years lings, and the second What is one thing you seniors? to be graduating from want to accomplish in Don‟t put off filling Holyoke High school. college? out scholarship or col- Ciara is applying to I want to be on the lege applications, be- several colleges, and dean‟s list! cause its really tiring. she is excited about her next big steps in life. Here is a little more about Ciara... The UB Scholars’ Digest P a g e 3 Senior Spotlight- Greenfield High School Tatiana Santiago What's one thing you If you could have one want to accomplish superpower, what in college? would it be? I want to get really People have asked me good grades! I want to this before at Upward do better in college Bound and we had than I did in high long conversations school. about it. Flying. It's What is your favorite like meditation. subject and why? What is your favorite English. It's the one part of the college subject you can be admissions process? most be yourself. You College essays. Tests Tatiana Santiago is can argue your point. and grades don't fully excited about being What about Upward say who you are. a senior this year! Bound has been most What advice do you She has three sib- helpful to you? have for next year's lings, and loves to There are so many seniors? sing and dance! things....It brought me Stay open-minded to out of my shell. I used everything. Take Here is a little more to be shy and it made school seriously. It about Tatiana. me more confident in really is important. talking to people. The UB Scholars’ Digest P a g e 4 Senior Spotlight-Springfield High School of Science and Technology William Lalikos What's one thing you anything about the col- want to accomplish in lege process, like how college? to apply, so I guess the I want to get good knowledge it gave me. grades and once I have If you could have one gotten into the swing superpower, what of things I want to get would it be? a job, so that I can have Magic! Because its so my own money. broad on what you can What is your favorite do, so I could do any- subject and why? thing! It‟s between science What is your favorite William is enjoying his and math because I part of the college ad- find I have more fun, missions process? senior year so far. He I'm better at handling Seeing how many col- has an older sister and is the materials and I like leges I can apply for, excited about entering messing with stuff in and how many will ac- college like her! William those subjects. cept me. lives with his mom and What about Upward What advice do you dad, 4 fish, and 1 pet Bound has been most have for next year's squirrel named Sly! Here helpful to you? seniors? Before Upward Bound If possible, start on is a little more about Wil- I was nervous about your summer work as liam. high school, not know- soon as you can. Ask ing what classes to your teachers about take. I also didn‟t know summer work. The UB Scholars’ Digest P a g e 5 Some colleges where UB Stu- dents are applying Bucknell College Bridgewater State University Beloit College Providence College Bennington College Boston College Oberlin College Wesleyan University Brandeis University Emory University Bard College Stonehill College UMASS Dartmouth Clark University MCLA Franklin and Marshall College Colby-Sawyer College of the Atlantic Colgate University Worcester Polytechnic Institute Clarkson University Cooper Union Dartmouth College Mount Holyoke College Hartwick College Ithaca College Harvey Mudd College Roger Williams University Middlebury College Colby Sawyer College Worcester State University Tufts University Northeastern University Drexel University Rochester Institute of Technology College of the Holy Cross Framingham State College Stonehill College Western New England University Smith College UMASS Lowell St. Olaf College Fitchburg State University Trinity College Guilford College Lesley University Salem State University Fairfield University Roger Williams University Quinnipiac Holyoke Community College University of New England The UB Scholars’ Digest P a g e 6 UB Summer Academy 2014 P a g e 7 Changes in the SAT for 2016 Upward Bound students and parents take more cultural value for privileged students („yacht,‟ note: the SAT is changing in 2016. Although the for example), and that certain versions of the stan- test‟s general structure will remain the same, there dard High School curriculum in language arts and in will be several shifts of emphasis in each section. It mathematics were implicitly preferred by the test. has been demonstrated by researchers that test scores Meanwhile, the test prep industry was steadily grow- are representative of social factors beyond each stu- ing. Organizations such as Kaplan and the Princeton dent‟s academic achievement.