JSC Upward Bound Students are ‘Research Scientists for a Day’ at Dartmouth

December 15, 2015

Five high school students in the Johnson State College Upward Bound program joined 20 other students from Vermont and northern New York at the “Research Scientist for a Day” symposium at Dartmouth College in November. The students were greeted by Dartmouth Professor Katherine Mirica – a former Upward Bound student herself – and five post-doctoral students from the Mirica Group, comprised of chemical scientists and engineers who develop materials for portable electronic-sensing devices.

The purpose of the day-long event was to provide first-generation, college-bound students with experiences to help them prepare for highereducation. The students were treated to lunch in the Dartmouth Commons dining hall and also toured the college’s library during their time on campus in Hanover, N.H.

Upward Bound is one of the TRiO educational-opportunity programs funded by the Higher Education Act of 1965. The program serves academically motivated high school students who will be the first generation in their families to pursue college, come from families with modest incomes and intend to enroll in college immediately after completing high school. For more information about Upward Bound at Johnson State College, contact Tony Blueter, director, at 802-635-1268.

Photo, from left: JSC Upward Bound students Meghan Draper (Enosburg Falls High School), Samantha Miller (Peoples Academy), Daneil Whyte (Peoples Academy and JSC Early College program), Christina Jewett and Maria Paul (both Richford High School) ham it up in one of the research labs at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.