Hugo Martinez BS, Family Science, 2013

Education Specialist, Upward Bound Program, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

I work primarily in our target schools: Lincoln Northeast, Lincoln High School and Lincoln North Star. Our main focus is to get first-generation low-income students to enter and graduate from a four-year college. We are not successful unless our students graduate from a four-year college institution! 

Our process of getting students to graduate is very complex. It is actually a three-part process. The first part is recruitment. As a program, we try and recruit students their freshmen year in high school. By working with them early on in their high school careers we are able to guide and help them focus on taking the right courses that will eventually set them up for acceptance into a four-year college program. 

The second part is our academic program during the school year. As an education specialist, I work in the schools with the students and meet with them once a week. During our meetings, we discuss grades, possible courses to take and build an individualized student success plan for each student. We also provide the students with tutoring, time management classes and study skills classes in order to give our students the tools to succeed in college.

The third part of our program is our summer campus program. Our summer program is a six-week program. We bring our students on campus and give them a taste of college life. Students will get to take classes and live in the dorms, just like real college students. At the end of the program, we take a trip across the nation and visit various colleges. Our goal is to provide students with a wonderful experience that will make going to college less intimidating and to provide them accurate college information.