Program to help high school students receives national grant

HOUGHTON — School will be back in session soon, but students in the TRIO Upward Bound program should be excited: the program received a national grant to fund the program for another five years.

TRIO Upward Bound at Finlandia University is funded through 2022, thanks to the U.S. Department of Education. Upward Bound is designed to assist high school students in Baraga, Houghton or Keweenaw counties to find success in college and beyond. These students come from modest income background or will be first–generation college students, meaning neither of their parents have a bachelor’s degree.

“This program was originally developed because students who are from modest income and first–generation families have a much lower percent of not only just going to college but once they get to college, actually finishing college and obtaining a degree,” said Director of TRIO Pre–College Program David Kamrad.

The program was awarded a five–year grant for $353, 718 per year, or over $1.77 million total. This will fund many of the activities the program provides, including sending staff to study labs across the three counties and covering costs of college visits and their summer program at Finlandia.

“During the academic year, we see students, but then they also come to Finlandia’s campus and live on campus for five weeks. The sixth week is usually a major field trip where we go to visit a city,” said Kamrad.

More information on the program can be found here.