Bristol Community College Upward Bound Program funded again with $1.7 Million Grant

Bristol Community College has had its Upward Bound program funded with $1.7 million for another five years by the U.S Department of Education. The grant will provide $345,431.00 for the first year.

The Upward Bound Program provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance in addition to opportunities for participants to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits. Upward Bound participants must be potential first-generation college students, low income Individuals, or individuals at high risk for academic failure, and a need for academic support.

Bristol is in the 23rd year of providing Upward Bound services to more than 340 graduates. Upward Bound students have gone on to graduate from a wide range of colleges and universities and enter satisfying and productive careers in fields ranging from engineering to pharmacy to microbiology to law. More than 90 percent of its graduates have gone on to higher education, and more than 70 percent of students obtain a degree within 6 years.

Upward Bound aims to increase the rate at which underrepresented populations enroll and graduate from colleges and universities. Bristol works with high school students from Fall River. This year’s Durfee High School Valedictorian, Anita Pechenenko, who emigrated from Kyrgyzstan as a young child, is a BCC Upward Bound graduate. Anita has taken BCC Dual Enrollment classes and is attending Yale University in the fall. BCC’s Upward Bound program provides academic instruction, college visits, on-campus programs, tutoring, counseling, mentoring, cultural enrichment, and work-study programs.
           
For more information contact about the Upward Bound Program and the funding grant contact Sarah Morrell, 508.678.2811 ext. 2324.