Upward Bound completed its 44th summer on the campus of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Students attended academic classes to prepare them for Virginia’s Standards of Learning and other classes for the upcoming school year. The Upward Bound theme this summer was “The Clue to your Success!”

Upward Bound at UVa-Wise is a pre-college program serving low income and/or first-generation high school students from five schools in the counties of Wise and Dickenson. The program serves 70 students with the grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is free to the students and they receive a stipend for participation.

Fifteen bridge students, those who graduated from high school in the spring and are enrolled in college in the fall, were enrolled in two summer classes for college credit.

All students participated in a work-study program in the afternoon. The students either worked in various offices on or off campus, participated in a photojournalism class to produce the summer magazine or in a career development class. The classes featured guest speakers, mock interviews, research papers, and field trips to various job sites, including the Wise County Courthouse, Lonesome Pine Regional Library, Norton Press-Coalfield Progress, First Bank and Trust, Thompson + Litton, Lonesome Pine Airport and Sykes.  They also participated in community service projects at Kid’s Central, UVa-Wise and Heritage Hall.

Upward Bound students participated in several activities on and off campus, including trips to the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair, Barter Theatre, East Tennessee State University, Cooper’s Gem Mine, Appalachian Caverns, Bristol Motor Dragway and the Grey Fossil Museum. The students also enjoyed many activities on campus. The summer session concluded with the annual Parents’ & Awards Night.

The students visited Chicago for the popular end of summer trip. Visiting the Brookfield Zoo, Gino’s East Pizza, Skydeck, Water Tower Place, Millennium Park, Navy Pier,  Museum of Science and Industry and a concert by the Blue Man Group were among the highlights of the Chicago excursion.

Students who participated in the summer program included:



CLINTWOOD

Anthony Fackler

James France

Renee McKinney

Travis Rose



COEBURN

Alicia Cole

Patrick Deel

Brian McCowan

Jessica McCoy

Whitney Mullins

Helen Osborne

Olivia Osborne

Alexis Palmer

Tonya Richardson

Alicia Sexton

Olivia Sexton

Randi Stanley

Kelsey Stout

Nicole Vance

Rebekah Vance



ERVINTON

Kelsey Chaffin

Clinton Counts

Cody Deloach

Kasey Fleming

Brittany Holts

Brittany McCowan

Deloris, McCowan

Dylan Perry

Holly Rose

Rochelle Taylor

Latasha Vitatoe

Destinee Williams



WISE

Thomas Boring

Brad Branham

B.J. Brummitt

Emilie Collier

Victoria McConnell

Hannah Sargent

Brad Stapleton

Jonathan Strouth



POUND

Hera Chowhan

Nicholas Countiss

Cody Griffin

Zachary Pilkenton



Bridge students included:



CLINTWOOD

Amber Deel (Tusculum)

Rachael McKinney(UVa-Wise)

Zachary Mullins (MECC)

Ashley Umberger (Tusculum)



COEBURN

Gloria Gibson (UVa-Wise)

Tanner Jackson (MECC)

Casey Page (Berea)

Rocky Wireman (UVa-Wise)



ERVINTON

Ashley Bowen (UVa-Wise)

Stephanie Edwards (UVa-Wise)

Whitney Holts (UVa-Wise)

Mackenize Moore (Nashville Diesel College)



POUND

Jacob Bateman (UVa-Wise)

Ben Bowman (MECC)

Daniel Hilton (MECC)  



The first session of the academic-year tutorials is Sept. 18.  Students will participate in tutoring each month, and other activities such as college tours, financial aid workshop, field trips including the Barter Theatre’s production of Sherlock Holmes in October.

Students receive free tutoring, academic counseling, motivational sessions, test information and college prep. Upward Bound also pays for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, college applications, and some dual enrollment and AP classes for qualified juniors and seniors.

Interested students may contact their school guidance counselors or Upward Bound at 276-328-0175 for eligibility requirements and application information. Students must be enrolled in college bound classes and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. Additional information may also be found at http://people.uvawise.edu/upward_bound/index.html.