President's Message

Hello and welcome to our website! My name is Victoria Gibbons and I am Florida International University's Upward Bound SGA President. I have been in Upward Bound for a number of years and it has been, not only educational and enlightening, but also very fun.

Aside from our education, we have lots of fun. We attend various field trips. We have attended Miami Heat, Florida Marlins games and other recreational activities. We also have the opportunity to live on the FIU campus over the summer for another intriguing experience. During our stay, we attend classes, judo lessons, computer lab and tutorial sessions. Over the summer, we have a very tight schedule. A typical day begins at 5:45 a.m. in the morning; we awake and proceed downstairs to partake in our daily exercise routine. Then we get dressed for school, eat breakfast, and we are in class by 8:00 a.m. We have six classes in total and three each day. Our classes are: Math, Chemistry, English, Spanish, Physics, and ACT prep. After class, the students split up in groups, either in the class room for homework help or the computer lab on Mondays and Wednesdays; and we attend judo on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, we usually go on a field trip and go home at 1:30 p.m. At the end of the summer, we participate in the annual Florida Upward Bound Olympics. We also earn community service hours over each summer.

In the past Olympics, we have competed against other Upward Bound Programs from all over Florida. There were so many wonderful and spectacular events you could participate; like track and field, basketball, volleyball, softball, cheerleading, stepping, public speaking, chess, scrabble and many more. Competing and winning in these events made our time in Jacksonville the best ever; however, nothing can compare to the fun filled time we had when we went to the huge party that the Jacksonville Hilton hotel threw for us while we were up there, which gave us more time to mingle with other upward bound students. The Upward Bound Program is extremely resourceful for any one who wants to take that great and rewarding step in achieving a college education. Being in the Upward Bound Program has granted me an extraordinary experience of a lifetime and I truly hope you will share this experience with us. Go Golden Panthers!!!!

In conclusion, the main goals of this program are to help students fulfill a successful career in college and a professional career after. Students are prepared for high school exams as well as college entrance exams such as the FCAT, ACT and SAT. In addition to the exams, students will also get tutored on their regular high school courses. If you want to know more about our program, call us at (305) 348-1742. If not, thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Victoria Gibbons

Upward Bound SGA President(04-05)