High school students experience college life

Three 75-minute classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Another three 75-minute classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Plus an elective class and study hall every day. It may resemble the life of a college student, but it wasn't a college student's schedule.

More than 40 high school students from Johnson and Gilmer high schools adhered to the structured schedule during the Upward Bound summer residential institute on the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Dahlonega Campus.

"We are treated like real college students, and it's a good experience," Luz Cerda said. The rising senior from Johnson High School in Gainesville, Georgia, has participated in Upward Bound summer institute for three years. "It gives me an understanding of what I can expect in college."

Providing promising low-income high school students access to post-secondary education is the purpose of Upward Bound.

"These are potential first-generation college students who have the academic ability to get to college, they just may not know that they can get there or how to get there," Dr. Latrice Richardson, project director of Upward Bound, said. 

The program has been successful in that regard. Based on 2019 figures, 22 of 24 Johnson High graduates and 16 of 22 Gilmer High graduates enrolled in a higher education institution.

"Of the 46 seniors who graduated from both high schools in 2020, about 60% of them enrolled here at UNG," Richardson said. "Those graduates also received $150,000 in scholarships to fund their educations."

She and her counselors provide the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders the tools and resources to succeed. During the academic year, students receive weekly tutoring sessions, ACT and college preparation sessions, career exploration, cultural experiences, and college visits.

During the summer institute, students are immersed in the college environment by living in a UNG residence hall and eating in a dining hall.

Last year, the program was online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the program was in-person and expanded to a fourth week on campus. Two more courses were added to complement the traditional English, science, math, and a foreign language.

"They participate in a personal finance course and a sociology course," Richardson said, adding elective classes were in the afternoon like art. Students created an art piece in a new class this year taught by a recent UNG graduate and two undergraduates. "All of our rising 12th-graders attended a senior seminar class."

Madalyn McMurty, a rising junior at Gilmer High School in Ellijay, Georgia, enjoyed her first time at the summer institute.

"I am taking classes that I wouldn't take in high school, like sociology," the 16-year-old said. "I like that our electives rotate every week. We've had an etiquette class and a photography class. And I'm getting to know a different group of people."

After the summer residential institute ended, many Upward Bound students were exposed to different universities during a weeklong road trip. This summer, Richardson and the students trekked to Louisiana and visited Loyola, Tulane, Xavier, and Louisiana State universities.