Upward Bound Group Comes to Chicago

Post written by Brigette M., Program Assistant and Carly Kruse, CHC member

Chicago Health Corps was excited to be contacted by Upward Bound at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse.  The Upward Bound group helps high school students, who are eligible, prepare for success in college.  The Upward Bound website states, “A national study showed that Upward Bound graduates are four times more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than students of similar backgrounds who did not participate in UB!”

Upward Bound students and staff serving together to help better the community.

With the help of CHC member, Carly Kruse, we were able to host an engaged and energetic group of 11 students, and inform them of the career opportunities in the health field.

            We met the Upward Bound Group at Heartland Health Center- Hibbard. The students were given a tour of the school-based health center and introduced to clinicians.  Afterwards, they participated in a discussion about the positives and negatives of a school-based health center and explored their overall opinions of the center.  Then, the students participated in a service project, and did a phenomenal job cleaning up around Hibbard Elementary.

                                    

           

                    Lastly, a diverse health career panel shared their experiences and their educational journeys, along with career opportunities beyond exam rooms and health clinics. Together, the panel consisted of Heartland Health Center's director of school-based health centers Dana Traub, Alternatives counselor Kelli Blanchard, Chicago Public School's student health specialist Megan Erskine, Heartland Health Center's director of community relations Laurie Odell, and PHIMC's very own intern Brigette Mazurkiewicz. The panelists also touched on the positives and negatives of working within a major metropolitan city like Chicago.  The student’s seemed to walk away with the main take home messages of “Anything is possible; don’t be afraid to network; don’t be afraid of change or of exploring different majors of study.” We had a great day with the Upward Bound Group and look forward to serving with them again in the future. We wish them the best of luck with their future endeavors.



"Cleaning the world, one school at a time," chuckled a few Upward Bound students.