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....June 16, 1:56 PM |
| Onward And Upward Students Fight To Keep Hope Alive
By Andrew Moesel Sitting in her classroom one day during 10th grade, Rebeca Garcia heard her name announced over the intercom telling her to come to the principal’s office. She wasn’t in trouble, however, but just the opposite: the meeting would be the first step to building a bridge into a better life for her and her family, she would later say.
The principal at Robert F. Wagner Trade School told her about a program run through LaGuardia Community College called Upward Bound, a federal initiative to help intelligent yet underprivileged students, mostly first-generation Americans, make the difficult transition from high school to respected, four-year colleges. It was a road few in her family had dared to take, and one she thinks she might not have been able to travel alone. But more than three years later, several politicians in Washington are trying to prove Garcia wrong about that first meeting. Without Upward Bound, she would likely have been in much the same position she finds herself today, they say, working hard toward earning a biology degree at CUNY to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. They said the money spent is a waste. Over the past several months, a fight has ensued over the actual purpose and feasibility of Upward Bound. In a recent flurry on Capitol Hill last week, Congress managed to pull the program off the chopping block for at least another year, though its long-term safety remains in doubt. The fate of nearly a $500 million dollars rests in the balance. And more importantly, so could the reality of the American Dream for an entire generation of youths born on the outside of privilege looking in. Upward Bound For 2 1/2 years after she first heard her name over the loudspeaker, Garcia and many students like her around the city who joined the program have learned study skills, taken college courses, prepared for entrance exams and tried to comprehend the often-confusing process of college admissions. The commitment is intense. Students attend school on Saturdays and are required to complete coursework beyond their regular secondary classes. During the summer months, when other kids are working or shooting the breeze, Garcia left the security of her home and family to take part in month-long academic camp at Vassar College in an effort to acclimate her for college life. While they left her homesick, the trips made her realize she could succeed on her own. Upward Bound was founded in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Higher Education Act, along with two other programs meant to level the playing field at post-secondary academic institutions. Although the initiative has grown beyond the original three programs, the name Trio has stuck to the department. The goal of the Trio Programs, Upward Bound in particular, is to target talented youths and help them ascend past their born-to class, said Robert Levine, the Upward Bound coordinator at LaGuardia. Even with good grades, lower and working class students often have much to learn about being accepted to college and then competing against students from first class secondary schools. “These kids have good parents, but they sometimes work two and three jobs. When they have to attend a meeting, it sometimes takes an extraordinary effort for them to make it,” Levine said. “These parents have little understanding of what a college education means. They are very supportive, but they can’t advise their children.” Born the daughter of Dominican immigrants, Garcia is unlike most people in her family, who have not attended college or even completed high school. Her father, a retired attorney, did obtain several degrees, but a health condition forced him into early retirement, putting the family into difficult financial straits. Now, having completed multiple science courses and co-authored an upcoming article about research at Columbia University, Garcia said everyone in her family calls her “Doc.” She credits the Upward Bound program with giving her the skills and confidence to make her dream a reality. “It inspired me to get into the best school I could get into. That’s especially important for women and minorities,” Garcia said. “Anything you want to do, you can do it.” |
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