The "Power" Summer Academy 2017

The summer took off with the "Powers" of the HEC Upward Bound students. HEC Upward Bound has been talking about "Powers" for a year now. The staff has come together to make sure that in every class our students were discovering their "powers" in each and every subject.

Ms. Christina, Social Worker, used the movie Kung Fu Panda to relate to our students. Po is the main character and the not-so typical super hero. He is our super hero example. Po has to discover who he is in order to be the "Dragon Warrior" for his village. Po digs deep inside of him and realizes where his emotions come from in order to figure out his magical powers. As we watched all the movies we realized that Po goes through a lot of what, our staff, students and communities go through. For example in the second movie we saw that Po discovered that he was adopted and never had a mother. He had to discover what was bringing him down and how can he turn that into his super powers.


This a lesson that we often times try to teach our students. We discuss with the students to think about what they have been through and how that affects their future, but also their present.

What have you been through that can help shape you into the person you need be? 

What is holding you down that will not allow you to be open?

Students dancing at the Hard Rock Cafe Atlanta

The staff giving the students back to their parents!

HEC Upward Bound students coming to a college near you!

HEC Upward Bound staff!

HEC Upward Bound meets  Georgia State

HEC Upward Bound Staff

HEC Upward Bound's Peer Leaders

HEC Upward Bound Students reading their poems

HEC Upward Bound Staff & Teachers

HEC Upward Bound visited CNN

The Nolan Squad

After the staff rounded the students up for a "Ice Breaker" other staff prepared to throw water balloons at the students (See Video)

The Staff versus Students water balloon fight

Our students worked with  Riverview's Boys & Girls Club  10-12 year old students in Life Skills activities

Ms. Nolan's Bestie, Ms. Mercedes is the Program manager for Riverview's Boys & Girls Club. Ms. Mercedes allows HEC Upward Bound to come in and lead her students in life skills activities.

Team building with HEC Upward Bound and Boys & Girls Club of  Riverview

There were three different stations that students experienced.

HEC Upward Bound's Peer Leaders who lead the three stations for the Boys & Girls Club

Demetrius Parker at the Blues Museum

Mr. Armstrong jamming out old school style

KyShun Clark-Templeton

Miracle Baker

Ms. Nolan, Nylah Burns, & Amaia Johnson

Ms. Williams and Aigner Williams

Nylah Burns

Anyko Washington

Ms. Nolan & Aigner

Amaia Johnson

HEC Upward Bound's students & staff attending the Men of Excellence Conference

Dug Thuang

Mr. Brown, Mr. Bullard, Mr. Sedrak, Duh Thuang & Ean Johnson

Young men who know how to dress for success.

The Men of Excellence Conference

Mr. Bullard (College & Career Specialist), Ean Johnson (Freshman from Vashon High School), Keith Williams (Junior from Gateway STEM High School), Anthony Rogers (Freshman from Vashon High School), Samuel Lewis (Sophomore from Metro Academy High School), Demetrius Parker (Freshman from Vashon High School), and Mr. Armstrong (Director)

The MOE (Men of Excellence) is a conference that is inspired by President's Obama's My brother's Keepers Initiative. MOE targets young men in high school and college.  The goal is for the young men to work along side TRIO and higher education professionals on life skills development and college planning.

Everyone needs a little guidance and this conference is a perfect opportunity for young men to see people like them and people who are not like them. This is a great opportunity for people from all over to come together and work towards a better future, not just for themselves but the upcoming generations as well.

The theme of the MOE Conference is

                                                   

 BE R.E.A.L. (Responsible, Educated, Authentic and Leader)

R- The individual is responsible in the way that they carry themselves and the accountability that they have for their actions. They can be trusted to make good decisions, having everyone in involved, in mind, and engaged.

E- Not only in the sense that they are clever factually, but can utilize their skills, and stay in-tuned with their surrounding

A- this individual has to have the chutzpah to not betray who or what they find important, but be genuine and upfront. These are qualities that may be challenging to embrace considering the many negative outside pressures that exists. Now, there are many individuals out there can lead, whether it be parents, teachers, or a politician.

L- you accept that you are in a position where can influence others, and use your position to affect change on behalf of those individuals.

The 7 S's to Success

Miracle Baker, Nylah Burns and Zykiah Williams received an opportunity to attend The Girls in STEM Conference. These ladies applied and they were recommended from a HEC Upward Bound Staff member. They got to be chaperoned by Ms. Garnett and Ms. Nolan. The Girls in STEM conference focuses on encouraging young women interested in STEM to fulfill their dreams.

 Marlin Willaims, Diversity & Inclusion Educator,  Media Contributor,STEM Strategist and Founder of Sister Code,and a motivational speaker was the keynote speaker for the Girls in STEM conference.

 One thing she discussed is pursuing her own businesses that showcased her talents of singing, but there were "Grown Folk" that told her she would not get anywhere with singing. She developed two of her own businesses, but let them go because she listened to "grown folk." Her message was "sometimes you can not listen to folk. Just nod your head and say ok!" 

 Ms. Williams gave us 7's in Pursuing a STEm Career.

1. Self-Love- Without self-love there is nothing that can move forward. How do I feel about myself? This affects our confidence from the personal to the professional. Remember: What other people think about you is not your issue! 
2. Self-Belief-  You have to believe in your-self. "I believe I am good at what I do! It is alright to make the wrong decision because it will happen. 
3. Self-Talk -  What are you saying about yourself? The words you say are power. An example of this is when we say we are broke. Instead of saying "I am broke." Say, "I am choosing not to purchase that thing today." 
4. Self-Care-  When you have self-care people will not bring negative,gossip or bad talk to you. We need to take care of ourselves in order to be successful. You are not someone;s trashcan. Do not allow people to bring you trash. Tell them to keep that stuff over there. But when you know yourself and you hold yourself up high, people will not even tempt to bring you mess. 
5. STEP-Taking the first step- There is power in the first step. Why not try it? There is no worse case scenario. You can want something really bad, but there needs to be action in order to get what you want. 
6. Sister's Keeper- Uphold one another. Your sister is pretty much you. Think of the women in your life and look at them as sisters.  When you build up your confidence; another woman is not your problem-another woman is not intimidating to you!
7. Swagg/Swagger- This is your confidence!Get yourself a Swagg song. A Swagg song is that song that puts you in the mindset of getting your business done and it getting done effectively.

Senior Shout Out 2017

We are congratulating all of our seniors! You have made through one chapter of your book and now the beginning of the next chapter will start!

Darrell Allison- Wichita State University

Janae Bates - Ball State

Morgan Chavers- Howard University 

Casey Cody-Jackson- Missouri Valley College

JoVanna Coney- St. Charles Community College

De'Monyae Harris- Paul Mitchell Beauty School

KeShaun Hill- Southeast Missouri State University

Aminata Kamara- St. Louis Community College

Angel Lewis- St. Louis Community College

Kierra Long- Tennessee State University

Aaliyah Lucas- Hawii Community College

Alexia McDermott- Millikan University

Kaela Moore- St. Charles Community College

Crystal Ray- Ranken Technical College

Leanna Ray- St. Louis Community College

Tyrese Robinson- Ball State University

Cordell Scott- St. Louis Community College

Malik Shabazz- Tennessee State University

Ciera Shavers- St. Louis Community College

Kristopher Sims- St. Louis Community College

Tamia Thomas- St. Louis Community College

Amanda Watts- Texas Southern University/ National Guard

Arnez Williams- Indiana Tech

Tiffany Williams- Harris- Stowe State University  

Wanting Help for Yourself

Students,
The time has come for us to send off our seniors and end the academic year. As we prepare for our Summer Academy and tell some students, "See you later," we have noticed some people just have trouble with moving forward.

Upward Bound is a program that assist students like in preparation for college. As some of you are figuring out; this process is not what the movies make it out to be. There is work and time that goes into this process. Also, this is not a process you want to do by yourself. Upward Bound is a program developed to assist you, your family and your school. We believe in partnerships, not just with you, but with your support system and your school.


 We say all of this to say...

NO BODY CAN HELP YOU UNLESS YOU WANT HELP

As mentors, teachers, moms, dads, friends, siblings, and everything else; we can not want more for you than what you want for yourself. We strive to see you all go above and beyond what we have done. But you have to see it within yourself.

We are always here to help you all. Whenever you need assistance, feel free to reach out to us!

Incentives come Naturally

Seniors tell us what their "Whys" in life are and their understanding of HEC UB "Whys" are

Over this academic school year, the HEC Staff has talked and taught about empowerment, self-care, self-love, goals, responsibility, college and overcoming high

One thing that should be noted STUDENTS is once you do the right things; the good things or as we call them, incentives do come naturally.


Now, let's be real... Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. So, your incentive may not come right away. You may not see it for awhile, but that should not stop you from doing what is right.

Incentives do not always come in the form of a pizza party, free meal, a scholarship or even a "congratulations" from your parents. Often times we look to other people for a good job or for recognition. Start recognizing yourself. Start being proud of yourself. Start congratulating yourself. Stop looking for other people to do something for you.
Moral of the story, you will not always be recognized. You will not always be seen as the best. Recognition feels great. It is greatly needed to the human race. But the reality is it does not always happen. Do not ever allow that to stop you. You keep going and you keep striving down the right  path.Your life depends on you and not anyone else. Keep going.

Seniors were able to write on mirrors for a daily reminder of what their "Whys" and "Powers" are:

The Purpose of Me

If you had an opportunity to write a book about yourself what would it be titled?  What would your table of contents consist of? How would you describe your family? What would be the ending? How do you envision your retirement? What is the conclusion of your life?

Angel showing us how she visions her family

The seniors had an opportunity to write a mini book about themselves and what their life looks like and how they for see their future.

Ms. Nolan asked, "Why is this important?"
Senior, Amanda Watts, attends Cardinal Ritter,"I am taking psychology and we are learning that the family relationships that we have can affect our future. We learn a lot from our family."

Ke'Shaun showing off his drawing skills

There are many factors that can determine  our future. One thing Ms. Nolan pushes is to know yourself. Know yourself especially when entering a new environment and opportunity. Do not expect to have your life together by the age of 18. But know how to self- empower, self-advocate, self-love and step back and recharge yourself.

ATTENTION PARENTS 

We discussed asking a lot of questions whether your child is going to military, a four-year university, community college, tech school or whatever your child decides to do. Parents, everything is a business and they will sell you hopes and dreams. Sometimes, places and programs keep their word, other times we see that they said what they needed to say in order to grab your attention. Ask questions! If you are confused keep asking them to break it down. This is your child's future and ultimately your future!

Also, parents, please please please be an ear to your child. College is getting harder. It is becoming more stressful. We discussed as a group; that most of our students are not prepared for college. This can be for many reasons. When your students calls you crying about math; believe them. When they can not pass a class and they have done nothing;believe them. There is a struggle. Support them. send a candy bar. Be silly and most importantly love them and make sure that they know that. This is a journey where they will need you! But the most important thing is realizing this action can start now while your child is still under your roof and in high school.

Photo Fun 

Parents and Student getting to know each other

Ms. Nolan trying to speak on military services and giving advice to parents and students about making decisions

The Urban League held a  free event where students were able to receive free clothing

Alumni of Upward Bound  came back to speak to current students

Mr. Bullard speaking to Freshman at Carnahan High School