Understudy for Hire

           Well I figured I would be writing this article about some general thing like, “Make sure to take your ACT” or maybe something about school. But instead I think I will write about something else. As you all know, Kori Hoffmann is no longer Academic Coordinator of UB now of which he has a position with Student Affairs. Personally, I think that job suit him well as he will now be able to scare students straight. Now this is all kind of disappointing to me, not because I am not happy that he got a new job, but now I am not an understudy to anyone. That’s how it was, I was Kori’s understudy. What exactly did I do? Well I would take care of his office, take out the trash, and even occasionally bring him a drink or two at lunch. I was his personal assistant for whatever we needed.

It all started as I was in my first year of the Upward Bound program. I really didn't know anyone. So I thought I would take up opportunity to suck up, err uh, and get to know central staff. As scary as Kori seemed, I got to know him as well as Phil and Brenda (at the time). I would get things for Kori as he asked and it just seemed to stick, and I was deemed understudy. Of course, living in Maryville I could stop by the UB office whenever I wanted, so when I came up the steps and through the office, Kori was always the first one to see me, as he has the prime office that could spot me from fifty feet away. He didn't seem as excited to see me. I also remember Kori coining the term “Ricka-bow-bow-chica-bow-wow” but don’t quote me on spelling. Oh yeah and he always told me that he will go on trip this year, too. Oh well I guess that won’t happen. All in all, Kori is always someone you can turn to, he is full of helpful advice. But don’t miss him too much, he’s not too far away, second floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union. Go visit him, I know I will! 

- Tanner Rickabaugh, Senior SAC Member

Dubstep

Hey guys this is my first S.A.C article so bear with me. If there is one type of music I love it is Dubstep!! I have always loved Dubstep ever since I was introduced to it by another fellow UB student named Hayden Rainey.

One thing I have come to realize is that not everyone feels the same about Dubstep as I do, with its bass drops, lack of words, and computerized sounds. However, I also feel like if you give it a chance you can find a Dubstep song that you enjoy.

Well anyway a point that I want to get across is, believe it or not, that you can relate Dubstep to life!! Yes, it is possible but you are going to have to bear with me like I said before.

O.k. to start I am going to explain a little about how a Dubstep song is put together. First, it starts out relatively normal (for a Dubstep song). Then, out of nowhere it drops off and stops. You almost feel like the song is over, and just when you think all hope is lost the song starts back up into something way more fantastic than ever before. “How does this relate to life?” you may ask, well let me tell you. Suppose you’re walking down the road of life and everything is going pretty good when, BAM! You hit something and it stops you. This thing, this obstacle is blocking your way. You power through this tragedy and get to the other side, your spirits lift and now you feel better than ever before. Life is awesome!

So, my point is that you’re going to have those bad times, and you honestly feel like you should just give up. However, if you just power through, you “just keep swimming”, you never, ever, ever give up. I promise you, it will get better. Then if you get through it, the other side will be way more fantastic than you could have ever hoped.

“Keep calm and Dubstep on.”

-Lucas Raymond, Sophomore SAC Member

Are You Prepared?

            You, being in Upward Bound means that you are planning to have a post-secondary education of some kind. What can you do to be ready?  Well, that’s a good question. Learn from other people’s regrets and mistakes.  There are so many little ways to better yourself. Pay attention in class, take notes, ASK QUESTIONS (one of my big regrets), and know procrastination is never a good option.

I know, I know, why should you listen? What you’ve been doing has worked so far, right? Here’s the thing, paying attention only half the time, not taking all the notes, or not doing your best on your homework by going and asking questions when you need to, will hurt you when you when it comes to test time in college. That’s the facts. Right now, in high school you are not only preparing yourself physically but also mentally and socially. Now you’re thinking, “I understand getting ready physically and mentally, but socially?” Yes, socially. Get involved in your school sports, clubs, or organizations, and/or do community work. You need to get your name known, have experience of teamwork under your belt, and just learn how to be a people person, or how to handle them like a civilized human being. Be ready for the experience of college. One more thing, know that you can always be “upward bound” in life.

Words of Hope:

It’s always hard and stressful going up the mountain, but once you get to the top, the feeling of fulfillment and beautiful scenery are there for the taking. 

-Katrina Freemyer, Senior SAC Member

Fall Recruitment

Fall recruitment will begin at the end of September; therefore this is the perfect time to tell your peers about the awesome opportunities the Upward Bound program provides!  Student applications can be found under Forms on the Upward Bound website or any student interested can pick up a hard copy of the application through their school counselor after the central staff visit!  

Along with the application, everyone should check out our new Upward Bound recruitment flyer and pass it along to anyone interested in becoming Upward Bound!

Welcome!

Haven’t you been thinking, “UB needs a blog!”?  Central staff has thought about it and we have made it happen!  This will be a place where you can learn new UB information as it happens.  This blog will now take the place of the previously printed Student Newsletter and the SAC articles will be posted directly to the blog.  Along with SAC articles, the central staff will post helpful news articles that will pertain to you, program updates and much more! 

We’re still working out the nuts and bolts, but please check back often as more interesting information will be added!

For now, we would like to give you an update on the new UB grant that will start September 1^st.  Below is a message we have written for all our students, parents, and community members.  Enjoy!

We are excited that our Upward Bound program was successfully funded for the five year grant cycle of 9/1/2012-8/31/2017! A lot of people played a part in making sure that our application was thoughtfully and accurately written. Thanks to all of you!

As we embark on the next five years we feel it is important to highlight a few of the changes from the previous grant. In order to field a competitive grant application, we had to make sure that we were addressing changes in the educational landscape since we submitted the last grant application. Here are a few of the changes:

Use of Technology: Technology resources will provide us with the capability to interact more efficiently with students in a more timely fashion. We will have our own E-companion website and we will ask that all students become accustomed to checking it on a frequent basis. During the Academic Year it will serve as our main platform by which we disseminate information. We will also utilize it for various purposes during the summer component.

College Prep Curriculum: We have been required to work closely with each student to ensure that they are taking the necessary courses while in high school to be prepared for success in college. While this has always been an emphasis of our program, we are now being held accountable for reporting a percentage of students who are successfully completing these courses. So---be ready to challenge yourself academically!

Saturday Academies: Instead of “Saturday Sessions” we will now be holding “Saturday Academies” during the school year. We have reduced the number of meetings from 11 to 8. Saturday Academies will not have academic classes, but will include speakers, workshops and group activities. They will still be held from 8:30 to 12:00 on selected Saturdays.

Increasing Student Population: We have been required to increase the number of students we serve each year---we now must serve 80 students on an annual basis. While this does stretch our budget somewhat, we feel that it is a great opportunity to impact more students. One thing we will need from our current student population is help in recruiting---be sure to spread the good word about Upward Bound so we will be able to easily hit our targeted numbers!

Providing Follow-Up Services to Graduates: Our staff is responsible for tracking students until they graduate from an institution of higher education. With that in mind, we will continue to provide UB graduates with guidance and assistance as you work to complete your college education. This will require a willingness on your part to provide us with information about your progress. This is when the phrase “Once a UB’er, Always a UB’er” becomes very important!

Other subtle changes are also planned. We are extremely excited for the next five years! Thanks for all of your support in the past and we look forward to working with all of you in the future!

Phil, Kori, Jackie and Ashley