JSC Upward Bound Participates in New England Leadership Conference

September 30, 2011

Over the Sept. 23-24 weekend, five students from the Upward Bound Program at Johnson State College attended the annual New England Student Leadership Conference at the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, Vermont.

Upward Bound works with 90 students from seven area high schools who come to the JSC campus for a five-week residential program each summer, where they focus on academics in order to be better prepared for college. Staff also work with students at each high school after school or through advisory periods throughout the school year. All of the students have the goal of being the first in their families to earn a four-year college degree.

More than 19 students from the JSC program applied to attend the conference, and five were selected to attend: Tonia Houghton (Enosburg Falls HS), Connor Keefe and Mercedes Sauve (Mount Mansfield HS), Dylan Baranik (BFA-St. Albans High School) and Rhiannon Rosamilia (North Country Union HS). They were joined by 50 other students representing TRiO programs from across New England and upstate New York.

The annual conference provides students and staff the opportunity to develop, refine and implement leadership skills. This is achieved through various activities and workshops. Teambuilding skills and risk-taking were a must on the high ropes course, while compromising and considering the “big picture” were necessary for the “Eclipse Challenge,” a firsthand look at how the United States budget is produced.

“All of the students from JSC showed true leadership, and I am excited that they are bringing back these skills to our program,” said Allison Laflamme, assistant director the Upward Bound program at Johnson State College. For more information about Upward Bound, contact Tony Blueter, director, at 802-635-1268.