UPWARD BOUND Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College July 2015 New York, New York! “Our students give up six weeks of their summer to invest in them- For the first time in the history of Northeast- selves; personally and academi- ern Oklahoma A&M's Upward Bound pro- cally for their upcoming school gram, ten students and two sponsors were year. Students are placed in flown to New York City for a cultural trip July classes for the summer based on 8 through July 11. their Fall school schedule in order to provide them with a jumpstart The students selected to attend this exciting in those courses. We also focus cultural trip were composed mainly of recent on ACT preparation in all of our high school graduates from Fairland, Miami, core subjects. We want them to and Wyandotte. Only one of the ten students do well in High School, but we attending the trip had ever flown on an air- also want them to be able to get plane, so exposing them to this new experi- to college and not have to take ence was cultural in itself. remedial classes. We want them to be college level ready. “Nine of the ten students had never flown on an airplane, which was ex- After five weeks of intense aca- citing to experience with them. Many were excited yet nervous of the un- demics, it is fun to see our stu- known prior to boarding the flight, but once they landed you could tell dents enjoying the cultural trips. that they were pleased with their first flight as they grinned from ear to The students are selected to at- ear," said Elsie Grover, director of Upward Bound. tend the cultural trips based on their academic achievements in After landing in La Guardia Airport, the students boarded a subway into school and during our summer Manhattan arriving in the historical Grand Central Station. While in Man- academy. It is an honor and privi- hattan, the students were able to visit and see many famous landmarks lege to be selected for the cultural such as the financial district, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, World Trade Center trips. This years trips were amaz- Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, NYU, Coney Island, Times ing” Square, and many more. -Mitchell Hubbard, Academic Coordi- While in New York, the Upward Bound group was able to attend the his- nator torical USA women’s soccer ticker tape parade, allowing them to be a part of history as this was the first ticker tape parade for a women’s team. In This Issue The students were also able to tour the Observatory in the One World Cultural Trips Trade Center, allowing the students to view 360 degrees of panoramic Summer Academy views. Student Surprises “The trip was absolutely amazing! We did so much in so little time, it makes it hard to choose my favorite part, but I would have to say Coney Island was proba- Goodbye to Seniors bly the best part." Upward Bound graduate Sarah Ware What's In Store for “This was a trip of a lifetime. I would like to thank Upward Bound for the many Next Year amazing opportunities.” Upward Bound graduate Josh Hoch Upward Bound Summer Academy 15’ Was the Magic of Leadership St. Louis Cultural Trip The UB Staff worked diligently to create another fun and The underclassmen of Upward memorable summer academy for the Upward Bound students. Bound, were able to enjoy a fun This year’s theme was chosen by Brittany Crowe, second year and exciting cultural trip to St. RA, as “The Magic of Leadership,” in conjunction with a Harry Louis this summer. Many stu- Potter theme. The summer kicked off with the “Sorting Hat” dents and staff were surprised at how many great things that St. ceremony, where all students found out which house they be- Louis had to offer. longed to during the summer. The students were divided among the following six houses: Basilisk, Dragon, Fluffy, Hip- Since Missouri is known as a pogriff, Phoenix, and Thestral, in which they competed in vari- cave state, we decided to tour the ous evening activities for bragging rights among other privileg- largest commercial cave in the state, Meramic Caverns. The stu- es. With great leadership and team work, the Hippogriff team dents were impressed with the ultimately won the Upward Bound Summer Academy Champi- beautiful caverns and its rich his- onship. Ivy Henson under the Sorting Hat tory. Sooner after the tour of the cavern, our students nervously Sunday Speakers enjoyed their trip up the St. Louis Archway. Once they reached the With the Magic of Leadership being the summer theme, along with focusing on top, many devoured the endless The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Sean Covey, the staff decided to have views from above while others various leaders provide our students with master classes on leadership. The UB were in line for a quick return to Staff contacted various leaders in various capacities to speak with the UB Stu- land. Nonetheless, the staff was impressed with many students dents every Sunday evening. Luckily all of our guest speakers graciously accept- who faced their fears of heights ed our invitation. Some of our speakers included Dr. Pollard, President of John and made their trip to the top of Brown University; Dr. Hale, President of NEO A & M College: David Frazier, Pas- the arch. tor of Friends Church; Chief John Froman, Chief of Peoria Tribe; Jordan Cash, President While in St. Louis, the students of Integris Hospital; Marcel Walthers, Presi- enjoyed there visit to the beautiful (and free) St. Louis Zoo. Many dent of Security Bank; Ben Loring, State Rep- students were excited to see ani- resentative; Chuck & Ann Neal, CEO and mals that they had never seen owners of Chas A Neal Company; Alisen An- before such as the polar bear, derson, Ag instructor at NEO; Eric Iverson, penguins, and sea lions. The stu- Dr. Jeff Hale, President of NEO A & M College NEO softball/volleyball coach. Speaks to UB students about leadership dents toured Washington Univer- sity, one of the nicest campuses Polyjuice Tuesdays our students had ever seen. Each Tuesday we had a dress up day. The students did an amazing job participating in The students also enjoyed their the themed dress up days. We had dress for success day, crazy hair day, mismatched visit to the interactive Science day, group twin day, and red white and blue day. Center and watched an Imax mov- ie on saving the Humpback Whales. Perhaps the highlight of the trip was the final stop to the City Museum. The City Museum is composed largely of refur- bished architectural and industri- al objects and converted into an interactive fun house with caves, tunnels, slides, ladders, a Ferris Wheel and so much more. The student enjoyed staying at the Union Station Hotel, a refurbished historical train station. Students enjoyed the 3D projected light show in their grand lobby. UPWARD BOUND CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY The Upward Bound (UB) staff at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) prepared a cel- ebration in honor of the program’s 50th anniver- sary. The celebration was held Tuesday, June 9 at 7 p.m. in NEOs Fine Arts Auditorium. UB programs from Crowder College, Independence Community College and Missouri Southern State University were in attendance. The UB program emerged out of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to the administration’s War on Poverty. In 1965, Talent Search, the second outreach program, was created as part of the Higher Education Act. In 1968, Student Support Services, which was originally known as Special Services for Disadvantaged Stu- dents, was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments and be- came the third in a series of educational opportunity programs. By the late 1960’s, the term “TRIO” was coined to describe these federal programs, according to the organization’s website. The UB program began at NEO in 1999. “We were extremely honored and excited to have a national TRiO achiever, Senator Pittman, inspire and motivate our students to aim Photo Booth at Dance Provided by Presidential Partners high with their educational careers. We enjoyed hosting the other UB programs on our campus to help celebrate 50 great years of Upward Bound on a national level. This program has been life-changing in a positive way for many perhaps the most famous being Oprah Win- frey. Many students grow through our program academically, per- sonally, and culturally which is inspiring to witness,” said Director of Upward Bound, Elsie Grover. Senator Anastasia Pittman served as the keynote speaker for the evening. Pittman is from Miami, Florida. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations in 1999 from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in education and behavioral sci- ence from Langston University in 2002. She was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2006. In 2013, Pittman was selected to lead the Legislative Black Caucus of the Oklahoma Legis- lature. The evening kicked off with team building activities followed by din- ner and a group aerial photo. The anniversary ceremony began at 7 p.m. with a welcome by NEO President Dr. Jeff Hale followed by remarks from UB achievers from each school and Pittman’s keynote address. The event was followed by a reception and dance in the Fine Arts Auditorium. “ Many of my career opportunities came because someone believed in me.” - Senator Anastasia Pittman “I loved the summer super Summer Highlights much, I met many new people Ryan Orcutt provides fun Team Building Activities and bonded even closer to people my second sum- Evenings were always filled with high energy team building activities that were put on by our mer...the staff was always Activities Coordinator, Ryan Orcutt.