MTSU Student Success’ Upward Bound helps targeted Bedford, Rutherford scholars achieve college dreams

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Rising Community High School senior Zayne Bluthardt said the Upward Bound program through Middle Tennessee State University’s Office of Student Success “helped me gain great social confidence and respect for myself and others, teaching me the values of others in ways that I had never considered before.”

Upward Bound is a U.S. Dept. of Education-funded precollege, academic support program that prepares ninth through 12^th graders become successful college students.

James Short, kneeling, of Shelbyville (Tenn.) Central High School, joins Middle Tennessee State University Upward Bound Director Bionca Washington, back left, Zayne Bluthardt of Community High School in Unionville, Tenn., and Yahir Gutierrez Gomez of Shelbyville Central in a recent visit inside one of the MTSU College of Media and Entertainment studio recording booths on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Receiving a taste of college life, in addition to academic work, the Summer Academy participants took in the Campus Recreation Center, Career Development Center and visited other college campuses. (Submitted photo)

Personally “going through a tough time once Upward Bound started” in June, Smyrna High School spring graduate Mariam Ramsis said the program “means family, it means support, it means caring about each other and respecting each other.”

These were two of the testimonials MTSU Upward Bound staff received from 21 students from Rutherford and Bedford counties attending the six-week program that included three weeks virtually, two weeks living on campus and a final week of cultural awareness providing them potential higher education options.

A grant award of nearly $299,000 will be for the upcoming academic Year 3 for 60 program participants, said Bionca Washington, MTSU Upward Bound director.

Middle Tennessee State University Office of Student Success participants and their instructors gather near a campus entrance in Murfreesboro, Tenn., for a group photo. Twenty-one students altogether from Smyrna and La Vergne high schools in Rutherford County and Community High in Unionville, Tenn., and Shelbyville Central attended the Summer Academy that ended July 11. (Submitted photo)

The students came from Community High in Unionville, Shelbyville Central and La Vergne and Smyrna high schools, and other high schools in the target areas. All were potential first-generation college attendees, from backgrounds where neither parent held a bachelor’s degree at the time of application.

They received academic support in English, math, science and foreign language, plus tips on how to study, prepare for the ACT and more. At MTSU, they visited the Career Development Center, Campus Recreation Center, attended a CUSTOMS orientation yard party, learned CPR and first aid at the rec center and self-defense from Sgt. Jason Hurleywith University Police.

Bionca Washington, director of MTSU’s Upward Bound program — Bionca Washington

Dr. Jonell Hinsey, interim associate vice provost for student success at MTSU — Dr. Jonell Hinsey

“It was a joy to be around these students,” said Jonell Hinsey, associate vice provost of Student Success, which is located in Peck Hall Room 142. “We expose them to the expectations of college, providing rich experiences and get them to capitalize on opportunities.”

Washington said “it was amazing to spend six weeks with our Summer Academy participants. … It was an experience I’ll always remember. During the summer, you get the opportunity to really see each student’s unique and creative self that they may not normally show during the academic year.”

Ramsis, who earned her associate degree with Motlow State Community College while earning her high school degree, will enter MTSU as a junior. From Upward Bound, she said she “learned that it’s OK to be afraid sometimes, but don’t let that fear overcome you. You must overcome that fear.”

Many participants, including Ramsis and Kyra White, a rising junior at Shelbyville Central, received support counseling from Kindred Locke, Upward Bound academic coordinator.

Cultural Awareness Week included visits to Austin Peay State University, Tennessee State University, Motlow in Tullahoma, Fisk University and Nashville State Community College. Additional trips to visit college campuses are planned during fall break.

Some may attend Convocation at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, in Murphy Center and attend a Blue Raiders football game.

To learn more about the program, call 615-494-8650, email Upwardbound@mtsu.edu or visit https://www.mtsu.edu/upward-bound/.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)