Project Upward Bound

February 2021

Engaging Students

Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer Glenn McIntosh was the featured speaker for Project Upward Bound's January 23, 2021, Saturday Academy. As an Upward Bound alumnus himself, Senior Vice President McIntosh is the ultimate role model for PUB Scholars. There is no way PUB Scholars couldn't have been motivated after his "Stand Up, Stand Out, and Stand Above!" challenge.

Developing Leaders

PUB was well represented at the November 19, 2020, Michigan Pre-College & Youth Outreach Conference. Spurred by recent social events and PUB Scholars' need for expression, Project Advisor Adam Harris, assisted by Graduate Assistant Mikal O'Neal, presented on "Black Minds Matter: Address it - Don't Suppress it." To put the exclamation point on their presentation, PUB's Ambassador's Council created a video, "I Imagine a World Where . . . "

Competing for College $$$

Scholarship dollars are coming their way! PUB congratulates Oak Park High School Senior Tumani Wahhab and Pontiac High School Senior Keyila Hollis for earning scholarships from MI-CAPP (Michigan College Access Programs and Personnel) that will be presented at its March 2021 statewide virtual Student Leadership Summit. Many students shy away from writing essays; but because they accepted the challenge to tell their overcoming stories, Tumani has an additional $1,000 and Keyila has an additional $500 to help with college expenses next fall. See them tell it in their own words: Tumani Wahhab and Keyila Hollis.

PUB Moves

For more than 30 years, PUB called South Foundation Hall home. But chage is inevitable as the University re-imagines itself and evolves. So, a move that began pre-COVID is scheduled to end at the start of 2021 in room 120 Vandenberg Hall on the first floor just inside the south doors. Just follow the mural on Vandenberg's south windows to find us across the lake.

PUB's COVID-19 Response

While it certainly had its challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic also presented some opportunities that had positive outcomes for PUB, particularly in the areas of uprading service delivery and addressing social needs. In the process, we were able to be the first to model OU's new classroom technology.

Within 48 hours of the public schools shutting down last spring, PUB was using OU classroom technology to reach into the homes of PUB Scholars to conduct its teacher-lead virtual classroom for its Pontiac International Technology Academy and Pontiac High School students. Within that same time period, PUB pivoted all services from face-to-face to virtual to provide a continuum of academic and solical/emotional support through the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. By being forced to use virtual platforms to keep the Project viable, PUB accomplished a long-term goal of automating services so that, in the future, PUB can offer a hybrid menu of face-to-face and remote services.

One of the ways in which PUB Scholars were affected by COVID-19 was food insecurity. PUB was able to help with that as well. Since PUB's annual six-week Summer Academy could not have a residential component in 2020, PUB advocated on behalf of its Scholars to reallocate unused summer meal funds to relieve COVID-related food insecurities. PUB is grateful to Oakland University and the U.S. Department of Education for working with us to address this need.

Moving forward, PUB will continue to take its cues from OU and remain virtual throughout the 2021 summer in anticipation of facilitating hybrid services beginning in fall 2021. Until then, stay informed about PUB on our web site, www.oakland.edu/upwardbound, and through our social media outlets:

Looking back?

You can locate archived IN FOCUS Official Newsletters of PUB here

Project Upward Bound - a Federally Funded TRIO Program

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