“I think we will always remember the time that Robbie got bit by a squirrel.”
Stephanie Lyons isn’t talking about a petting zoo visit gone awry. It’s one of the many memorable moments she had as a participant in ETSU’s Upward Bound program.
Lyons is a senior biology major at Milligan College and is planning a career in physical therapy. She participated in the Upward Bound program for three years in high school and then became a resident advisor for the program as a sophomore in college.
Along with good memories, Lyons credits the Upward Bound program with helping her develop good study habits, giving her encouragement and support and help her through the extensive college preparation process.
“The best part of the whole Upward Bound experience is that it provides such a positive environment for the students,” Lyons said. “They are surrounded by fellow students and staff members who want them to succeed and are there to support them.”
Upward Bound is an academic support college preparation program. It is funded federally by the U.S. Department of Education. It is designed to help first-generation college students or those with financial need prepare for successful college careers while in high school.
ETSU’s Upward Bound program serves 14 area high schools in Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, Washington and Sullivan counties. This year there are about 145 students in the program, said Sonya Greear, Upward Bound counselor.
Greear got involved with Upward Bound while working on her master’s degree in counseling at Lincoln Memorial University. She wasn’t looking for the position, but after LMU’s Upward Bound director watched her give a presentation at freshman orientation, he offered her a job.
“At the time I didn’t know much of what the program was about, but it sounded like something that would relate to my future,” Greear said. “Little did I know that it would turn into a career that I would love.”
After completing her master’s degree, Greear took a position with ETSU’s Upward Bound. Part of her job is to recruit new students for the program at the beginning of the fall semester. Once the recruitment process is over, she and the other counselors visit each accepted student once a week and the students come to ETSU one Saturday a month.
The short visits and Saturday sessions are designed to keep the students focused on their goals. Counselors help the students improve their grades, prepare for ACT testing and apply for scholarships. They also help students explore career options, prepare for interviews and sometimes place them in a career work-study.
Jamie Price, a freshman at ETSU, participated in a career work-study program that helped her decide to reevaluate her plans. “In doing the career work study, I realized I didn’t want to be a pharmacist, so that saved me a lot of money and years in school,” she said.
Although the program offers a lot during the school year, the summer session seems to be the favorite among participants.
“Around here we all live for the summer program, both students and staff,” Greear said. “It is an intense few weeks but worth all the effort and planning we put into it.”
During the summer, students move into a dorm on campus for six weeks to get an idea of what college life is like. The students generally take four to five academic classes and three to four elective classes. Recreational activities are planned daily, along with a special trip in the last week of the program. The trip, as well as every other aspect of the program, is provided at no cost.
Students are actually paid a maximum of $40 each month during the school year for successfully participating in the Saturday sessions and are also given $10 each week during the summer program.
“It isn’t much, but when you have never made your own money before it seems like a fortune,” Greear said.
However, most students don’t become involved with the program for the money. Some even get involved against their will, at first.
Dustin Higgins, a senior working on his bachelor’s degree in history at ETSU, was recruited by his older sister and hated the program in the beginning.
“From my point of view at the time, I was being forced to go to summer school,” Higgins said. “It was not until my junior year in high school that I began seeing the benefits of the program and how it had helped me.”
Higgins went from hating the program to striving to do even more. As an upcoming high school senior, he was given the opportunity to become a half-bridge student. A half-bridge student has to have a 3.2 GPA and an ACT score of at least 23.
Half-bridge students can take one college course over the summer paid for by the program, and upcoming college freshmen, or bridge students, can take two courses. For Higgins, becoming a half-bridge student meant extra studying to bring his original ACT score up, and he succeeded.
“It is somewhat ironic that I began the program wanting to do the least amount of work possible, and then two years later, [strove] to be a half-bridge student so I could do more work and challenge myself even more,” he said. “This is just one of the many cases where the program helped me to better myself.”
Once a student enters college, the process isn’t necessarily over. Students can remain in touch with their counselors for guidance, support and friendship throughout college and beyond.
Stephen Hendrix, a computer science and information technology graduate student at ETSU, is still involved with the program after completing it himself in high school. He has been a project specialist and resident advisor for the summer program and a tutor, Scholars’ Bowl assistant coach and student worker for the office as well.
“One of the best parts of the program is how the UB staff still continues to assist with all of your college needs,” Hendrix said. “We all know that if we ever need anything, all we need to do is to give them a call and they can always help us out.”
Upward Bound is located on the third floor of the Culp Center. For more information visit their web site at www.etsu.edu/ub or call 439-5619.
And, by the way, Robbie, the unfortunate squirrel victim, made a full recovery after getting a tetanus shot and a bit of good-natured teasing from his fellow Upward Bounders.

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