Our Staff

During the academic year we do many different activities with the students. Our staff consists of: the Director of TRIO, Mary McLaughlin; the Associate Director of Upward Bound, Vicki Dye; the Associate Director of Woodson Institute, Temporarily Vacant, Program Counselor, Ryan Hess, and the TRIO Administrative Assistant, Heather Green. Each of the eight counties we serve also has a field teacher or tutor counselor. If you would like to know more about our staff, please visit the Staff page.

Classic Upward Bound Enrichment Sessions

Enrichment Sessions are what the Field Teachers/Tutor Counselors are in charge of facilitating and arranging the time and meeting place for. Each county group has one meeting per month that lasts two hours per meeting. There the students do several enrichment activities over the year. The enrichment activities involve such things as logic, mathematics, reading, writing and many more things. The students also get a chance to get some homework done during these two hour sessions, and the sessions sometimes include contests.

Classic Upward Bound Reunions

Once a month the students get to come to campus to do different activities as a whole group. Some of the activities are more fun than others, but there are certain things that need to get done. Some of the activities include preparing for the ACT, going through financial aid, and a lot of things along those lines. We have what we call Future Building, which is where most of these things are accomplished. However, we don't always have future building. Sometimes we have writing time while other times we may do something special such as an overnight trip. The reunions are a lot of fun. We have guest speakers, trips, free time, and other activities for them to do while they are catching up with their friends from other counties.

Woodson Institute Mentors

During the academic year following the summer program the Woodson Institute staff continues to provide academic and personal assistance. College student mentors establish long-distance relationships in order to reaffirm our connection; to build on the skills developed in the summer curriculum and help students be more successful in their high school courses.

Woodson Institute Reunions

During some fall seasons, providing funding and staffing, we invite all active Woodson Institute students to return to campus for a weekend of academic, cultural and social opportunities.