Brody Quintin Receives Full Scholarship to Rice University through QuestBridge

Lyndonville VT: Upward Bound participant and Saint Johnsbury Academy senior Brody Quintin has been awarded a full, four-year QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship to attend Rice University in the Fall. Brody has been a member of Upward Bound for the past 3 years and spent two summers taking college preparatory courses, volunteering in the community, and developing socially, academically, and personally. Brody is a gifted student who has worked extremely hard to get the most out of his education at Saint Johnsbury Academy and through Upward Bound. 

Brody’s accomplishments are impressive, especially given the context of this year’s application cycle. Out of over 25,500 applicants, QuestBridge selected 7,288 Finalists to be considered for the National College Match Scholarship (Match Scholarship). This year, 52 college partners matched with 2,627 Finalists, who are recognized as Match Scholarship Recipients. This is the highest number of Match Scholarship Recipients to date for QuestBridge.

Upward Bound Director, Rick Williams, describes why Brody is so deserving of this award by saying, “What stands out most to me about Brody is his character. Though he is extraordinarily gifted academically, he consistently showed humility in and out of the classroom. Brody is open-minded and always listens to his peers’ input. He modeled the type of student that we all hope to see in the classroom:  He is respectful, academically mature, and a hardworking student.”

All students who ultimately matriculate to QuestBridge college partners join the Scholars Network, which connects students to a community of peers from a similar background. QuestBridge also provides enriching programs for its Alumni, including the opportunity to apply for full-tuition scholarships to top business schools through the Graduate School Match: MBA. The QuestBridge Scholars Network and Alumni Association now include over 30,000 current college students and graduates worldwide. 

Ana Rowena Mallari, Co-Founder and CEO of QuestBridge says, "We are delighted to welcome this record-breaking number of QuestBridge Scholars. These Scholars will contribute a rich diversity of perspectives and experiences to our college partners, enhancing the vibrancy of their campus communities." Match Scholarship Recipients are admitted early to QuestBridge college partners with full four-year scholarships provided by the colleges and universities, ensuring an education at a top college is affordable for these and their families. The Match Scholarship is made up of a generous financial aid package provided by the college that covers the full cost of attendance, including tuition, housing and food, books and supplies, and travel expenses. This scholarship through the college match program is valued at more than $350,000.  The Match Scholarship does not include loans or a parental contribution.

About QuestBridge:

QuestBridge is a national nonprofit that connects high-achieving students from moderate-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education and further life opportunities. By recruiting, developing, and motivating these students — beginning in high school through college to their early career — QuestBridge aims to help talented students attend the nation’s best colleges and to support them to achieve success in their respective careers and communities.

About Upward Bound:

Upward Bound is a college preparatory program funded through the United States Department of Education committed to providing modest income, First Generation College bound students the academic background, college preparatory experiences, and support needed to succeed in college immediately after high school. The program works with 75 students in 9 Northeast Kingdom high schools, who are dedicated to achieving their post-secondary dreams. Upward Bound students receive support services throughout the school year and spend six weeks of their summer on the campus of VTSU – Lyndon. For more information, please contact Rick Williams in the Upward Bound Office at 626-5000.

VTSU Lyndon Upward Bound Students Tour Boston University

Lyndonville – On Saturday, November 23rd, three students from the Vermont State University Lyndon Upward Bound program toured Boston University, a large, 4-year, private University located on Commonwealth Avenue. BU has more than 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students and is the fifth largest research university in the country. The University places a strong emphasis on providing excellent scholarships to all students, and is committed to educating students to be reflective, and resourceful and ready to lead in an interconnected world. BU prides itself on teaching and interdisciplinary research, with major initiatives in data sciences, antiracism, public health, neuroscience, systems biology, photonics, biomedical engineering, medicine, and emerging infectious diseases, along with communications, the humanities, and the arts.

The students had an information session in the Leventhal Center on the Charles River Campus where they were introduced the Boston University experience, talked about residential life in the city, and discussed the13 different colleges housed at the University. The Upward Bound students were joined by Lyndon Institute alum Una Colby, who is a freshman at BU, and Rebecca Doucet, a VTSU Upward Bound alum who is a medical student at Tufts University for a tour of the campus with the admission staff, pointing out residential buildings, seeing the urban setting, classrooms, and the arts buildings. 

Upward Bound at Vermont State University - Lyndon is a college preparatory program funded through the United States Department of Education. The program is committed to providing modest income, first-in-family college-bound students with the academic background, college preparatory experiences, and support to succeed in college immediately after high school. The Upward Bound program works with 75 students in 10 area high schools who are dedicated to achieving their post-secondary dreams.

VTSU Lyndon Athletics and Upward Bound Sponsor Hand to Hand Family

Dec. 4th 2024

The Vermont State University Lyndon Department of Athletics recently helped to provide a Special Christmas for a local family through the Hand to Hand program. This organization works with local families to help provide Christmas Dinner Food Basket and gifts for families and school aged students. The Lyndon Athletic Department and Upward Bound partnered together to collect gifts for the family from the universities coaches, and a Christmas Food basket from the Upward Bound program, all helping to make the Holiday season a little more special for the family.

The Vermont State University Lyndon Department of Athletics dedicates itself to the mission of providing athletic opportunities to a wide range of students and an environment in which all student-athletes can achieve their academic and competitive goals. The Athletic Department strives to provide equitable opportunities for all student-athletes and staff. To honor its academic mission and that of the College, the Athletic Department supports the educational aspirations, academic progress and general welfare of the student-athlete and is committed to the graduation of each student-athlete

Upward Bound at Vermont State University - Lyndon is a college preparatory program funded through the United States Department of Education. The program is committed to providing modest income, first-in-family college-bound students with the academic background, college preparatory experiences, and support to succeed in college immediately after high school. The Upward Bound program works with 75 students in 10 area high schools who are dedicated to achieving their post-secondary dreams.

VTSU Lyndon Upward Bound Students Tour UMaine Machias

Lyndonville – On Monday, November 19th, five students from the Vermont State University Lyndon Upward Bound program toured the University of Maine at Machias. The students started the day off at Jasper Beach, a beach where the Machias students often go to collect specimens and creatures to bring back to campus and study. The Upward Bound students spent time exploring and finding shells and rocks of their own.

Once on campus the students were greeted warmly by admissions staff who gave an abbreviated admissions presentation and then had a walking tour of campus to show off the college’s classrooms, residence halls, and facilities. The tour was eye opening for the students and truly highlighted the hands-on opportunities that college students receive: from going to the beach to bring back animals, to artistically recreating the skeletons of these animals. The tour even included a marine biology lab that was filled with local fish that the college students take care of. Additionally, the tour guide shared her experience as a student studying Marine Biology and even gave our group an inside look at the room where they keep and study live fish!

Maine Machias is Maine’s public coastal university, where the land, sea and natural ecosystems provide the context for a unique learning and living experience. The college has a distinctive, high-quality education that centers on engaging students in the scientific, cultural, economic and social inquiry.

Upward Bound at Vermont State University - Lyndon is a college preparatory program funded through the United States Department of Education. The program is committed to providing modest income, first-in-family college-bound students with the academic background, college preparatory experiences, and support to succeed in college immediately after high school. The Upward Bound program works with 75 students in 10 area high schools who are dedicated to achieving their post-secondary dreams.

Vermont Upward Bound Students Celebrate 2024 First Generation College Celebration at the University of Vermont

Burlington, VT: On Friday, November 8, Vermont’s Upward Bound students celebrated the National First-Generation College Celebration Day at the University of Vermont. More than 100 students and staff attended the day-long event, recognizing the students planning to attend college who will be the first members of their families to earn a college degree. Institutions and education agencies across the state participate in First-Generation College Celebration Day to highlight the achievements of students, educators, and alumni who are the first members of their families to pursue college degrees and to encourage this critical and resilient population to continue thriving.

The University of Vermont offers this outstanding event to First Gen students as part of their continued commitment to serving Vermont students. It is also part of their ongoing efforts to support first in family and modest income students in their journey to pursue postsecondary education. UVM welcomes students onto the University campus in an effort to help students envision themselves as college bound students. This event accomplished this goal by incorporating a panel of First Generation Students in an in-depth presentation about the college and student life. The Upward Bound students who presented were: Zofia Kosakowski (Lyndon UB), Marshal Moffatt (Johnson UB), Caitlin Hayes (Castleton UB), and Moses Doe (UVM UB). The panel was led by the University of Vermont’s Scholars Program Director, working with both Upward Bound and FirstGen@UVM programs.

This year’s participants were welcomed to campus by UVM’s Director of Admissions Moses Murphy and keynote speaker Lindsay Carpenter, who is Lyndon Institute’s Upward Bound Director and former Lyndon State College Upward Bound student who ultimately graduated from UVM. The students also had a tour of campus, enjoyed an Upward Bound alumni student panel, and had an admissions and financial aid overview.

November 8 was selected as the date for the annual National First-Generation College Celebration to honor the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Higher Education Act (“HEA”) emerged from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. Much like other hallmark legislation of that era, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, HEA was intended to help level a playing field that for too long had been weighed against Americans from minority and low-income backgrounds. In addition to creating federal grants and loan programs to help students finance their educations, the legislation made key investments in institutions of higher education. Additionally, HEA ushered in programs – particularly the Federal TRIO programs – necessary for postsecondary access, retention, and completion for low-income, potential first-generation college graduates.

Today, one-half of currently enrolled undergraduate students identify as first-generation. Despite first-generation students’ numerous strengths, only 27% complete a bachelor’s degree in four years—a proportion significantly lower than that of their continuing-generation peers. Institutions must build more inclusive institutional structures to close this gap and improve outcomes for this deeply intersectional population.

The TRIO Programs (initially just three programs) are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. These Programs (Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans’ Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) help students to overcome economic, social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education. TRIO students are first-generation college-bound and from low- to moderate-income families and/or are students with disabilities.

The state currently has 13 different Educational Opportunity Programs. Collectively, these federally funded TRIO programs serve over 7,000 Vermonters and bring more than $10 million annually to the state. These include: 4 Student Support Service programs that serve more than 900 college students; five Upward Bound programs serving 360 high school students statewide; a statewide Talent Search program, assisting almost 1,000 middle and high school students; the Vermont GEAR UP program, working with more than 2,800 low-income middle and high school students across the state; the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), advising more than 1,500 adults statewide annually; and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars program, helping undergraduate students pursue graduate education.

First Step Forward for GEAR UP students was a success!

GEAR UP ran a successful pilot event for GU seniors and juniors at the end of October at the White River Junction CCV.  Over forty students engaged with workshops focused on career exploration and professional development, and featured 3 GU graduates on an alumni panel. Thank you to GEAR UP Outreach Counselor Kassidy Moore for bringing the students, and Erin Wetherell of CCV for hosting the space. We hope to continue this event as a series around the state!

Northern Vermont University Johnson Celebrates First-Gen Day

Northern Vermont University Johnson participated in the National First Generation College Celebration on November 8th.

NVU’s Johnson campus celebrated this event in several ways, including:

• Setting up a table with fun give-aways, cookie decorating and a gathering of “what First-Gen means to me” signs

• Interviewing the new college president—who is a first-generation college student—for for the school paper

• Posting student spotlights on social media sites

• Conducting a survey to gather data on first-gen faculty and staff on campus and handing out door signs for each of them

• Posting videos from Senator Leahy and Congressman Welch on social media sites

The Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Center for First-generation Student Success have have encouraged colleges, universities, corporations, non-profits, and K-12 schools to celebrate the success of first-generation college students, faculty, staff, and alumni in any and every way possible, since 2017.