Left to right: Jazmyne Hafer, Rachel Keedy, Baily Brown, Joe LaFaivre, Senita LavuLavu, Saadia Beckmam, Claudine Richardson, Kayden Gilmore, Jewell Davis, and Jenna McCoy.
SPOKANE, Wash. Upward Bound from Ferry and Stevens Counties was honored to receive an invitation to tour the Health Science Department and participate in the City Lab on the Riverpoint Campus recently. Eight scholars engaged in an interactive tour where they learned about programs in dental hygiene, nursing, and physical therapy. Dr. Sylvia Oliver, director of the WSU Spokane City Lab coordinated the visit.
After department tours, Dr. Oliver provided an engaging biotechnology experience for the scholars in a hands-on workshop for students in a research laboratory. Students were engulfed in science using agarose gel electrophoresis to separate molecules.
Claudine Richardson, Upward Bound Director, said “Dr. Oliver provided meaning and an intellectual grasp to a subject that could have easily been tedious. The joy reflected in the scholars’ behavior and aura, as a result of this visit, positively encourages their classmates.”
In 2005, Upward Bound from Ferry and Stevens Counties grant project was developed to assist fifty first-generation, low-income, and/or at risk scholars (in extremely rural environments) prepare for academic and social success in college. WSU Spokane, in collaboration with Columbia, Inchelium, Mary Walker, and Wellpinit High Schools, has continued the dream of building a bridge to prepare their youth for opportunities that can benefit their community.
“We are looking forward to expanding future visits to WSU Spokane,” said Richardson. “We are excited about continued exploration of college preparedness and career exploration.”
For more information about Upward Bound and to support the Upward Bound scholars, please contact Claudine Richardson at 509-258-7365 or claudine.richardson@wsu.eduor visit us online here.