Class of 2010

This past summer I worked as a summer facilitator at Wesleyan’s Upward Bound (UB) Chapter. The program provides support to its participants in their preparation for college entrance and it aims to not only increase the amount of underrepresented students in post-secondary institutions, but also to ensure that they graduate successfully. Students must be either from low-income families or be potential first-generation college students. My main responsibility was to act as a mentor and track the progress of a small group of 10 students over the summer while completing daily administrative duties. I also led a West Indian Dance class as one of the many non-academic sessions offered to the students, which was KRAZY FUN It was a wonderful experience and the most rewarding part was to actually see that the students were positively impacted by the work done by the facilitators and other UB staff. The salary was not the best and it was challenging to work with the students at times (as you probably guessed lol). Still, the fact that I was helping college-bound students realize their dreams made the experience worthwhile. The program also offered a new way for me to connect with the adult population in Middletown community and surrounding towns since I interacted with parents on a regular basis. I am ridiculously happy that I had the opportunity to be a UB staff member and I feel those 7 weeks taught me much more than I ever imagined learning over that short span of time. If you are interested in being a part of UB, you should stop by their office at 41 Lawn Avenue.