Fifty-one high school students have completed the Upward Bound Summer Residency Program at the University of the Virgin Islands.
The college preparatory program is open to low-income high school students or students who are potentially the first in their families to attend college.
During the school year, the upward bound students attend a weekly after school program that supplements their high school classes. The six-week summer residency program prepares the students for college with curriculum classes in the morning and tutorial and enrichment sessions in the afternoon. Students also take one college level course during the summer program.
The students get to experience life on campus by spending time in UVI's residence halls.
In this year's graduating class, there are 15 males, 36 females and 17 of students are from St. Croix.
TeVar Malone and Akia Henneman, 16-year-old Charlotte Amalie High School honor students, found their college level calculus course challenging and rewarding.
"It creates a challenge, using numbers and relating the formulas to everyday topics," Malone said in a statement released by UVI.
Henneman said the course taught her what to expect in college.
"It helped me prepare for next year — to have a head start," she said.
Parents also appreciated the program. Donna Andrews said her daughter Tiffany Grosvenor, 15, became more independent participating in Upward Bound.
"The hands-on experience just having the exposure to the dorms — it's the best thing that has happened to Tiffany this summer," Andrews said.
The program's open house and awards night banquet will be held at UVI on Thursday, July 29. The Open House, to be held at the Harvey Student Center, begins at 4 p.m. The awards banquet begins in the UVI cafeteria at 6:15 p.m.