Orland student is Upward Bound

Marina Torres is on track for college and experiencing the university life this summer through the Upward Bound program at California State University, Chico.

The Orland High School student joined 155 other students from across the North State for six weeks of study at the Chico State campus.

She is living in a dormatory with a roommate, taking college classes, observing curfews and participating in social activities - just like any typical college student.

Torres is one of five Orland students involved in the program that encourages low-income teens to go to college - particularly those whose relatives have not gone there previously.

The OHS in-coming junior also attended a career fair, student-run talent show, a skating party at Chico’s Cal-Skate and a Chico Outlaws game.

She said a career fair booth about the University of California, Davis interested her because she hopes to go there in the future. The tips on how to get in and receiving financial aid were helpful, Torres added. She eventually wants to go into medicine or dentistry.

Other career options at the fair included police and firefighting recruiters, a booth on child development, graphic design and financial planning, she said. “There were interesting careers and there were more than I expected.”

The Upward Bound students attend classes in the mornings, Torres explained, and later visit career work sites or math and science seminars in the afternoons. They leave for home on Fridays and return to the dorms Sunday evening.

Everything is structured, and students are not allowed off campus except for some free time on Thursday afternoons, she said. Then, they can walk around downtown Chico to shop or eat.

This year Torres is taking chemistry, pre-calculus and a composition course, she said. She admits the courses are difficult at times and there are a lot of exams and tests, However, the Upward Bound staff and tutors are very helpful in tutoring students, she said.

Students from Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Yuba, Sutter, Shasta and Colusa counties are involved in the program and normally are paired with teens from other areas - as they could be when they attend college in the future.

Torres knows the four other Orland students. “It’s a small town,” she said. But her Orland classmates also think Upward Bound is beneficial and they like the people at the university.

The Chico campus is very big, but this is Torres’ second year in the program, so she knows where most things are located.

Upward Bound is a federally funded program aimed at high school freshmen to juniors 14 to 17 years old, according to its Public Relations Team Coordinator Maira Rios.

Students may apply to the program as incoming high school freshmen, and its staff and advisors will work with them to succeed with college preparation and work with high school counselors to get them in the right classes, Rios said, throughout the academic year. In the summer, they may attend the college study program.

Students of various ethnicities are enrolled in the program, Torres said. There are Hispanics, African-Americans, Caucasians, Indians and more.

The program also is co-educational and last year, young men and women were housed in the same dorm hall, but this year, the sexes are housed separately, Torres said.

There is a floor curfew of 10:30 p.m. and lights must be out by 11 p.m., she said. but the dorm room is comfy and her roommate is from Oroville. As a result, the students meet people from other areas but still get pretty close during the summer, Torres added.

“The challenge of medicine” is why Torres said she wants to pursue it. “I want to push myself and achieve a goal. I want to prove to myself I can do it.”

She said students in the program have to be open and outgoing as it is not good to be shy. “You have to branch out and meet new people.”

Her family loves her being in the program, Torres said. Her parents, Maria and Jesus, are proud and her three older brothers, Oscar, Alvaro and Victor support her as well. “They love my being here. They totally brag about it.”

Vicente Fuentes is a PR task force member in the program who comes from Gridley.

He said “It is an opportunity you can’t let go. More people need to know about it.”

Fuentes added it makes students more independent. “You have to do stuff on your own like clean up your room. Your parents can’t make you do it.”

The Upward Bound summer session ends July 24.

Rios said those interested in more information about the Upward Bound program at Chico, should do a Google search and find it on the Internet. Once on the site, downloadable application forms are available.