Spending the last five weeks at the University of Central Arkansas has been a life changing experience. The Upward Bound program allowed us to peek into the window of college life and see firsthand what it is like.
Upward Bound is a program that offers high school students personal encouragement and support to improve school grades and work ethics, preparing them for college. It visits schools during the school year, then offers a summer program as well.
During the camp, we stayed in the dorms on campus during the week and went home on the weekends. It really let us know what it is like to wake up and be responsible for ourselves, though we did have resident advisors if we needed them.
The resident advisors made this camp special by giving us one-on-one attention and support when we needed it. They helped us with our homework and were true friends. They paid attention to us, and so did the teachers.
Our classes ranged from music to ACT preparation. The teachers prepared us for high school and college courses.
We stayed in class during the day and then had activities and free time during the evenings. We were even treated like adults; we have never been treated like adults before.
The campus was large and confusing at first, and it wasn't always easy getting to class on time. In time we learned our way around, though, and learned how to manage our time well.
We have learned time management with our studies as well. Everyone has stressed how we need to make priorities for school and ourselves. We now understand so much better how school will affect our lives forever.
We gained much more than just school and management smarts. We are leaving this program with new friends, experiences and interests as well.
The administrators took us on occasional field trips, one of which was the Shakespeare Theatre. We watched "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Sound of Music." It was a first-time experience that we will never forget.
We will also remember all of the great moments in the dorm hall. During a ladies' spa night, some of the boys chose to reach their feminine side and paint their nails as well. It became a comical moment for all who were watching.
Each clumsy moment, lesson learned and friend made is burned into our memories forever. The past five weeks were packed with so many life lessons that it may have taken years for us to learn on our own.
As a reward for our hard work, we are being taken to Chicago, Ill. There we will experience big city life and a different culture. First stop was UCA, next up Chicago.
(Marissa Gazo, Nick Anderson and Chelsea Stephens are high school students enrolled in the journalism class that is part of the Upward Bound program at the University of Central Arkansas.)
