1. Upward Bound: Climbing The Collegiate Ladder—One Model at Nebraska Wesleyan University Presentation on October 2, 2010 at the Midwest Consortium Conference by Dr. Angela McKinney, Candice Howell, Evin Lackore, and Dr. Mike McDonald

2. Objectives Raise awareness, attainment, and aspirations to enter higher education among young people in Lincoln-area high schools who are from disadvantaged groups. Use Social Media such as wikis and Blackboard to strengthen outreach efforts and positively influence the decisions Upward Bound participants make. Develop guidance counselor and school staff expectations and awareness regarding young people from disadvantaged groups.

3. Objectives Continued Develop leadership skills and strategies between LPS mentees and NWU mentors Develop content knowledge in the STEM areas. Build parent engagement, aspirations, and expectations for the participating children to pursue higher education.

4. Collaboration Collaboration between many groups: AHEC---Southeast NE Area Health Education Center UNL—University of NE-Lincoln Upward Bound NWU---NE Wesleyan University: Assistant to the Academic Affairs Provost for Student Success and Diversity Biology Department Education Department

5. Program Websites Upward Bound Websites 2008 through present students.nebrwesleyan.edu/student_groups/upwardbound / students.nebrwesleyan.edu/student_groups/upwardbound / Wikispace--nwuupwardbound.wikispaces.comnwuupwardbound.wikispaces.com NWU Blackboard site—blackboard.nebrwesleyan.edu (need official access)

6. Summer Program July 6 – July 15 7 Courses (42 contact hours) offered to students Googlicious, Psychics Demystified, Geocaching CSI, Ceramics, Comparative Animal Locomotion Math - Magic - and Psychology 8 Wesleyan students mentored/assisted in the classes 64 Upward Bound students participated 10 NWU faculty presented

7. Summer Program Schedule STEM classes held in the PM; college preparatory sessions held in the AM. Group 1 at 1:15 to 2:45 Group 2 at 3:00 to 4:30 *Rotated different groups every other day between sessions so that students completed at least 6 hours with each instructor and NWU student assistant/s.

8. Sample Class Overview Crime Scene Investigation Dr. Angela McKinney and Dr. Dan Strydom Abstract: Student visited a “mock” crime scene and collected evidence. Once the evidence was collected, students took their samples back to the laboratory and analyzed them. Based on the result, students determined if the alleged crime took place.

9. Second Example Class Googlicious— sites.google.com/site/ubgooglicioussites.google.com/site/ubgooglicious Dr. Mike McDonald Abstract: Students learned to use the google site component of google, while incorporating the use of garageband and Animoto, to share about themselves, what they’ve learned in Upward Bound so far, and what they hope/d to learn in upcoming sessions.

10. Summer Program Evaluations Pre-evaluations completed by 52 of the 64 participants Post-evaluations completed by 54 of the 64 participants http://students.nebrwesleyan.edu/student_groups/up wardbound/evaluation.html http://students.nebrwesleyan.edu/student_groups/up wardbound/evaluation.html

13. Training and Mentoring Structure Mentee’s and Mentors meet two times a month (refer to Course Syllabus) Discuss leadership steps and multicultural awareness Reflections posted on Blackboard Group activities with all mentors and mentees Full Schedule found on the website http://students.nebrwesleyan.edu/student_groups/up wardbound/schedule.html http://students.nebrwesleyan.edu/student_groups/up wardbound/schedule.html

14. Blackboard Mentor response site Includes: Post of all mentors Course syllabus Schedule Posts are monitored to gauge leadership growth Site reviewed by Upward Bound Administrators

15. Example One of Mentor Postings Discussion of day Leadership topic of goals How to set good goals (ABC’s of goal setting) Implementation of mentor-mentee training

16. Example Two of Mentor Posting X and I have met once this month. We weren’t able to meet again since we both had breaks and she went to Chicago. We discussed a lot of things. One of the most important topics was her application to Wayne [State College]. X visited a few schools and decided that the best place for her is at Wayne. She just submitted her application 2 weeks ago and I am super excited for her!!! Also we have been discussing some scholarships that apply to X. Everything is going really well and we are a great match. We don’t have any trouble talking with one another and we e-mail each other on a consistent basis

17. Impact of Mentoring Mentees’ Perspectives: Great learning experience Exposed to many different disciplines of study Interaction with NWU students Mentors’ Perspectives: Chance to serve as teaching assistants and mentors Exposure to more diverse backgrounds Develop broader perspectives Experiences working with individuals form different backgrounds

18. Contacts Candice Howell, Nebraska Wesleyan University, choskins@nebrwesleyan.edu choskins@nebrwesleyan.edu Evin Lackore, NWU Mentor, Biology, Chemistry elackore@nebrwesleyan.edu elackore@nebrwesleyan.edu Dr. Mike McDonald, Nebraska Wesleyan University, mlm@nebrwesleyan.edu mlm@nebrwesleyan.edu Dr. Angela Mckinney, Nebraska Wesleyan University, amckinne@nebrwesleyan.edu amckinne@nebrwesleyan.edu