VTSU Lyndon Upward Bound Concludes 45th Summer Program

VTSU Lyndon Upward Bound recently completed its 45th summer program. Thirty three students from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the North Country of New Hampshire participated in this college preparatory residential program. The VTSU Lyndon program offered a comprehensive summer academic enrichment program to the students who were challenged to grow academically, socially, and culturally, all while pursuing their college goals. The program began with a leadership excursion to Maine’s Adventure Bound. The trip was an action-packed adventure including a celebrated ropes course, an outstanding climbing wall, and rafting on the Kennebec River. This leadership trip brought the entire group together as a community, allowing the students and staff to begin to build friendships with the other motivated, college-bound students who make up our Upward Bound community.  It was a great start to the summer residential program. Additionally, the students also had the opportunity to tour the University of Maine at Farmington. 

Throughout the summer students were busy with academic classes, hands-on activities, Upward Bound Olympics and volunteering in the community three hours each day. In addition, we had 11 students and staff volunteer at the Burklyn Arts Festival Summer Craft Fair. The 2025 Upward Bound Talent Show was also a great success! This summer once again featured “TC Talks”, where the summer tutor counselors – including several Upward Bound alums – spoke about their high school experiences, their transitions into college, and their experiences in college and their careers after. We believe it is important for our UB students to hear about the struggles of other first-generation or low-income college students and how they successfully overcame their obstacles. This gave the students the opportunity to begin thinking more seriously about their own educational journey, ask important questions regarding the college application process, and further define their personal career search as a whole. Our students also joined the LI and VTSU Johnson Upward Bound programs for at Lyndon Institute for a BBQ and activities that included NEOA Board Member Randy Schroder and several UB alums including a veterinarian, a physical therapist, and a current senior at UMF – all who shared their successes as well as their obstacles. 

Throughout the summer, the program offered 22 different academic courses to challenge the students, including SAT Prep, all levels of math including Calculus and Statistics, College Writing, Cohort College Counseling Classes, Rhetoric, Literature and Grammar, and STEM. Students were offered an additional 21 elective courses that met once a week that ranged from Basketball, Robotics, College Science, Drones, Volleyball, German, Painting, and Photography. At the end of the summer, all scholars took a full unofficial SAT in which the students scored an impressive average score of 1103, which is 200 points above the national average for similar income students! Through our summer career exploration and volunteer opportunities, our students also completed over 2100 hours of community service on the VTSU – Lyndon campus and in the towns of St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville. We believe these experiences better prepare students for high school in the fall and college in the future! Beyond coursework, students had the opportunity to participate in 4 different college tours this summer: The University of Maine at Farmington, Vermont State University Williston, the University of Vermont, and Saint Michael’s College.

  The summer program is a very important part of the Upward Bound experience, and we use this opportunity to build relationships with our students that will carry into the school year and throughout their entire high school and college careers. During the academic year, we will continue to meet with our students and offer them a variety of academic, community, and leadership opportunities to help them improve their college-bound resumes. We will meet with the students monthly at their schools, invite them on campus, and travel with them to build on the relationships we have started. The Upward Bound staff will be available throughout the year to support students and answer any questions about high school, classes, careers, and the college process. The program knows that these experiences will better prepare the students for success in high school in the fall and college in the future. Overall, it was a productive and fun summer, and we are really proud of our UB scholars!

Upward Bound is one of the federally funded TRIO Educational Opportunity programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Vermont State University’s Lyndon Upward Bound program was founded in 1980, and works each year with 75 high school students who are first-generation college-bound, and come from modest income backgrounds. Upward Bound students come from eleven participating high schools, who are committed to achieving their postsecondary dreams. For more information please contact: Rick Williams in the Upward Bound office at (802) 626-5000.