NMSU celebrates 30 years of supporting local Upward Bound programs
For three decades, New Mexico State University has helped local high school students through the TRIO Upward Bound programs in the Gadsden Independent School District/Las Cruces Public Schools. When the funding began in 1989, the program supported 50 students per year and now it has funding to serve 95 per year.
For 2005 Mayfield High School graduate Natasha Cuylear, her three-year experience in Upward Bound established a foundation for her future.
"The roots of my success were planted with Upward Bound," she said. "I don't know where I would have been without that program. It was very helpful for a person like me who didn't know if I could even do it. I always go back to the Upward Bound program. I think a lot of my success today began with my experience in that program."
Currently, Cuylear is an attorney and business owner in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after earning a bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of New Mexico.
Upward Bound is a federally funded TRIO program. Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families, and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.
"The program's 30-year existence is one of the longest serving partnerships between the Las Cruces and Gadsden school districts, the U.S. Department of Education and New Mexico State University. The program's design is unique as it not only impacts program participants, but also their families, schools and communities through educational support and college readiness services that contribute to positive social mobility outcomes," said Tony Marin, assistant vice president of student engagement.
Cuylear said Upward Bound helped her prepare for the ACT and SAT tests as well as long-term plans such as thinking about applying for law school as a senior in high school.
"To be able to participate in Upward Bound and to have that guidance from all the wonderful staff members, I don't know where else I would have gotten that," she said.
"The program not only encompasses partnerships with the education sector, numerous community members in the business sector contribute to the program success through presentations and visits to their respective businesses," Marin said. "These partnerships are essential in planting the seed of entrepreneurship at an early age. Ms. Cuylear's career as an attorney and entrepreneur is a perfect example of the importance and impact that partnerships with the business community have on the success of program participants."
To learn more about the TRIO Upward Bound programs visit https://trioub.nmsu.edu.
