Harding University’s Upward Bound program prepares eligible high school students for college and encourages them to follow through, despite the obstacles many of them face.
Katrina Smeltzer, director of the Upward Bound program at Harding in Searcy, said the program is federally funded by the United States Department of Education.
Smeltzer said the program is geared toward low-income, first-generation high school students who have an established need, as well as the drive to go to college.
Harding’s Upward Bound program has six target schools: McCrory High School, Augusta High School, Bald Knob High School, Riverview High School, White County Central High School and Pangburn High School.
The program’s staff goes into the target schools, works with principals and counselors, and presents the Upward Bound program to the student body, Smeltzer said. Interested students attend a detailed meeting and fill out application packets. Staff members also speak to parents and guardians.
Interviews are then conducted, and eligibility is determined based on need, she said. Smeltzer said the program serves 65 students per year who meet on specific Saturdays throughout the academic year.
Transportation is provided for students who live at a distance, such as those in McCrory and Augusta, she said.
Students participate in tutoring, culture events, workshops and ACT preparation. The program also features special speakers from time to time.
“It’s almost an all-inclusive program. We come very close, and we hope to keep students who are accepted in the ninth grade all through high school,” she said.
Every department at Harding is fully supportive of Upward Bound, she said.
Upward Bound also has a six-week program that takes place over the summer, she said, when students attend core classes on subjects such as composition, literature, math and science to prepare for the school year.
“These classes build confidence and help them get ahead,” she said.
Smeltzer said the summer program also offers ACT preparation and instruction on financial responsibility, such as how to have and balance a checking account.
Students stay in dorms on campus at Harding University for the summer program, she said.
“They get no school credit; this is strictly because they have a desire to go beyond high school. Many of them are the first in their families to graduate from high school. This is all prepping them for time management and what a college campus is like,” Smeltzer said.
On the final week of the summer program, the students take a cultural trip and tour various colleges.
“This year, we’re going to Memphis,” she said. “It’ll be both cultural and educational.”
Smeltzer said the program also helps students with college and financial-aid applications when the time comes, and students are encouraged to attend any college they choose, not just Harding.
“The goal is to recruit them in the ninth grade and have them all the way through high school, but we also recruit 10th- and 11th-graders,” she said.
“We want to have an impact and watch the students mature, grow and learn.”
Smeltzer said the program also has a bridge program that allows Upward Bound participants who recently graduated from high school to attend a summer class for credit before their first full college semester begins.
“We hope to support and prepare students for college entrance and success,” she said. “When they do start college, they know their way around and aren’t afraid to ask questions because they’ve been on a college campus before.”
Smeltzer said the program is life-changing for students who take it seriously and want to make a difference.
“These students who participate in the summer program voluntarily give up things like vacations, sports and camp to come do this. It shows me that they are serious about it and want a degree,” she said.
Upward Bound students also participate in service programs and volunteer work.
Thanaydi Sandoval, a student at Harding, went through the Upward Bound program throughout high school.
“I’m really grateful for Upward Bound, and it’s the reason I’m in college now,” Sandoval said. “Without it, I wouldn’t have known how even ninth and 10th grades can affect going to college.”
Sandoval said she never owned a planner before participating in Upward Bound, but now she has to have one.
“The summer academy was my favorite part of the program,” she said. “I made a lot of friends, and we got to stay in dorms and get to know people from other high schools. I learned a lot and even built relationships with some of the teachers.”
Sandoval said she suggests Upward Bound to students who are eligible.
“Treasure it, and put all of yourself into it,” she said. “You’ll succeed.”
Sandoval said Smeltzer is energetic, positive and always there to listen.
“Kids in Upward Bound are very close to her,” Sandoval said. “You know that you can talk to her and count on her.”
Mariel Arias Guerrero, an Upward Bound participant who graduated from high school in May, began her first college class in June as part of the bridge program.
Guerrero said the program has been life-changing for her.
“I come from a family with a difficult background; going to college was never an option because my parents could not afford to send me,” Guerrero said. “I joined Upward Bound my freshman year of high school.”
Guerrero will be a freshman at Harding University this year.
“What was impossible four years ago has become possible with all of my hard work and dedication,” she said. “I am going to college, thanks to this program, and most importantly because Mrs. Katrina saw potential in me.”
Study habits, not intelligence alone, get you through college, Guerrero said.
She said the word “family” sums up the Upward Bound program to her.
“Since ninth grade in high school, I have created a bond with Mrs. Katrina and Mr. Lynn,” Guerrero said. “They have become second parents to me, always encouraging me to give everything 110 percent.”
Guerrero said she will never forget that they helped her make her dreams come true.
“Family is what this program is in my heart, and also in the hearts of many others,” Guerrero said.
Smeltzer said she was a teacher before becoming the director of the Upward Bound program at Harding but had the desire to have a more direct impact on students and work with them individually.
“This isn’t just a job. It’s an entire staff committed to making a difference in the lives of our program’s participants,” Smeltzer said.
Staff writer Kayla Baugh can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.