Upward Bound Program Leaves Two Local High School Seniors in Awe
Last updated 10/18/2024 at 5:04pm
Borrego Springs High School Seniors Valentina and Melanie were mesmerized by the content, the history and the richness of the museums they visited in Washington DC. From the National Museum of American History to the Holocaust Museum to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, they were spellbound and deeply moved by what they witnessed and learned.
This is exactly the reaction that Upward Bound, a federal education program, hopes to elicit from their young participants. They want to inspire and encourage these young people from low-income homes and rural areas, to pursue a college education and to become the first in their family to do so.
Seniors (and cousins) Valentina and Melanie had already been attending Palomar College since 10th grade via dual enrollment online classes. When they heard of Palomar's Upward Bound Program, which included a week-long summer trip to Washington DC, they jumped on board!
Prior to the DC trip, Upward Bound requires monthly supportive check-ins with students to discuss any issues they might be experiencing at school with grades, teachers, their schedule etc. Students then attend a Summer Senior Seminar where they work on their career plans, explore college/university options and enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to DC.
Melanie and Valentina are incredibly motivated by this experience, and both are actively applying to universities and seeking scholarships this year. The trip to DC not only opened their eyes to the bigger world outside of Borrego Springs, but it also gave them an opportunity to meet new friends, discover people from completely different backgrounds and to share their unusual story of life in a remote, desert town in the middle of the vast Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Their favorite part of the DC trip was most definitely the museums – the massive collections, the technology involved with the displays, the information to be gained and the history to be learned. Melanie and Valentina could easily have stayed another two months roaming the museums and soaking up the knowledge.
Upward Bound made a good choice in choosing and supporting these two Borrego Springs High School Seniors. In addition, Melanie and Valentina should be applauded for seizing an opportunity, working hard to make it successful and for their positive and enthusiastic attitudes.
