Students involved in Seminole State College’s Upward Bound program recently returned from a trip to New York City. The 16 students who participated in the trip graduated from high school in May. Throughout the visit, students engaged in cultural and academic learning activities, alongside tours of many notable attractions in New York City. Students toured Columbia University, New York University, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum and Times Square. Upward Bound participants also took part in walking tours of the New York Financial District, the Brooklyn Bridge, Harlem, China Town, Little Italy and Central Park.

Students also viewed iconic New York structures at Top of the Rock, located 850 feet high at Rockefeller Plaza. Upward Bound students were able to view the Empire State Building, World Trade Center and other historic buildings.

A visit to the September 11th Memorial and Museum was included, which was located on site of the original World Trade Center. The museum paid homage to the victims of the 1993 and 2001 attacks, with massive reflecting pools in place of where the original towers stood. Upward Bound participants attended a baseball game, the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox, at Yankee Stadium. The students then visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

“All these activities served as a great cultural experience for our Upward Bound students, many of whom had rarely left the state of Oklahoma.” Upward Bound Program Director Rich Thorton Said.

 Upward Bound is a college preparatory program funded by the U.S. Department of Education.  The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of higher education.