Indiana Wesleyan University is excited to be the host campus for the 2019 Upward Bound Olympiad and Leadership Conference on June 27-28. Over 400 middle school and high school students from around the state will be in attendance, including 62 students from Grant County.
The annual conference seeks to allow Upward Bound students to put both their academic skills and athletic abilities to the test at a state-wide level, while also educating students on practical character development and leadership practices that they can use in their own lives and communities.
Students will have the opportunity to compete in basketball, volleyball and more, as well as debate, quiz bowl and mathletics. After outstanding teams have received awards for their accomplishments, attendees will participate in a leadership development conference. The keynote speaker is Ellis Dumas III, regional director of Indiana Department of Child Services, who is a former Upward Bound participant. After the keynote luncheon, students will attend breakout sessions on various student leadership topics.
“We are thrilled about the rare opportunity for IWU to host this conference as well as the chance to share our heart for these students,” said Shelly Curtis, director of Upward Bound at IWU. “Our older Upward Bound students get to step up and take leadership roles, which is great to see. And, all of us are looking forward to the fun that happens when all these groups get together.”
The Upward Bound Program provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. Upward Bound serves students from low-income families, potential first-generation college students and students who have a higher risk of academic failure. The goal of the program is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education. Over the course of 23 years, Upward Bound at IWU has assisted over 900 Grant County high school students in preparing for a college education.
For more information about IWU’s Upward Bound program and the resources it provides, visit www.indwes.edu/undergraduate/life-at-iwu/offices-and-services/upward-bound.