This year marks the 60th anniversary of TRIO Upward Bound on the WVU Tech campus, the longest-running, continuously funded TRIO Upward Bound program in West Virginia and one of the longest-running in the country.
TRIO Upward Bound was first established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Two years later, in 1966, the first class of TRIO Upward Bound students came to Tech’s campus. The program may look different now than it did 60 years ago, but the main goal remains the same: to provide opportunities and prepare first-generation, lower-income students for higher education.
The first year TRIO Upward Bound came to Tech’s campus, it was a nine-week program that served 147 students across all of Southern West Virginia. Today, the grant-funded program lasts six weeks and serves 90 students from Fayette and Raleigh counties.
“It’s not common for a program to make it 60 years. Thousands of lives have been changed during this summer program. To have the longest continuously funded program in the state makes us unique in our history,” says Scott Robertson, Assistant Dean of Students, Director of TRIO Upward Bound and TRIO Student Support Services at WVU Tech.
“Sixty years ago, somebody at Tech had the idea to try for this grant. This summer, we’re trying to instill in our students that it all starts with an idea. It’s not going to be easy; there will be bumps in the road, and you have to push through. But if it’s something you care about, you’ll figure it out. That’s the driving force behind this, but it also ties into that first summer. Here we are with 14-, 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds who are having a similar experience of figuring out what college is like,” Robertson says.
To celebrate the legacy of TRIO Upward Bound at Tech, a reception will be held on June 29 for current TRIO Upward Bound students to meet alumni and commemorate the end of another successful year.
“I’m going through the archives to find pictures of past summers, invite some alumni to come and talk about the impact of the program, and capture their stories,” says Robertson.
At the end of the program, students will participate in their Undergraduate College Tour and Real-World Excursion to Cincinnati, where they will go to King’s Island, the Cincinnati Zoo, and tour the University of Cincinnati.
“For a lot of our students, this will be the first time they’ve left the state or traveled without a parent,” Robertson says.
A lot has changed since the first summer of TRIO Upward Bound in 1966. Classes included sewing, leather, hair styling, swimming, and first aid. This year, students sat in on an AI session and are learning lessons centered around Appalachia.
“We’re showing our students you should not be ashamed to be from Appalachia. Just because the mass media, since the early 1900’s, have played on these tropes about being Appalachian, they’ve stuck. They shouldn’t be ashamed. It’s beautiful here. People pay money to come here, tourism is a huge business, and there’s so much going on here; they should be proud of where they’ve come from,” says Robertson.
Robertson said that as an immersive learning project this summer, students are learning about roller coasters and are tasked with building an amusement park on a mountaintop removal site. They have to think about their hypothetical water runoff, erosion, safety, colors and branding, and food.
“Chef Cacie (of the Hospitality [Culinary] program) is teaching a culinary class this summer, and learning about Appalachian food. They’re going to learn how to make homemade biscuits, funnel cake, corn dogs, pimento cheese, and fried apple pies. These foods are part of Appalachian culture and would be sold in their park,” Robertson says.
Those who aren’t in the culinary class are taking a class on cryptids – those are the park mascots and characters, and they’re building models of roller coasters.
“We try to take the requirements of the program and turn them into something fun, so they don’t always realize they’re learning,” remarks Robertson.
For more information about TRIO Upward Bound at WVU Tech, visit techupwardbound.wvutech.edu.