TRiO: Upward Bound

HCC receives third Upward Bound grant

Hagerstown Community College recently received its third five-year Upward Bound grant, totaling $1.48 million, from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant, one of the federal TRIO Programs, is an intensive intervention program designed to increase the high school graduation and college completion rates of low-income, first-generation students. Through this grant, HCC will continue to work in partnership with Washington County Public Schools to provide students with the skills and motivation necessary to succeed in high school and college.

HCC’s Upward Bound program serves 72 students annually from North Hagerstown School, South Hagerstown School, Williamsport High School, and Hancock Middle Senior High School. The program provides participants with tutoring services; college-preparatory workshops; academic, college, and financial aid advising; career exploration; leadership opportunities; college visits and cultural enrichment. The program also includes a summer academy on the HCC campus, designed to further increase academic readiness.

Upward Bound began as a federal program in the 1960s. In the ten years that HCC has received grant funding, 215 students have participated in the program.

Applications are currently being accepted for HCC’s Upward Bound program, for students entering ninth, 10th, and 11th grades in the fall. For more information on the program, contact James Mankins, Upward Bound manager, at 240-500-2584 or jemankins@hagerstowncc.edu, or visit www.hagerstowncc.edu/upwardbound.

(June 9, 2022)