High school students in the TRIO Upward Bound Program at Laredo Community College snared top honors at the 27th annual South Texas Upward Bound Academic Bowl. The event was held recently at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi.
LCC Upward Bound students—comprised of area high school students enrolled in a federally-funded college prep program--competed with their counterparts that represented five higher education institutions, including Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M-Kingsville, University of Texas-Pan American, Coastal Bend Community College and South Texas Community College.
LCC received overall top honors after winning 27 awards in a variety of academic and artistic subjects.
“Laredo Community College congratulates the students, instructors and staff for their commitment to succeed in this competition,” said UB Director Gerardo A. Martinez. “This has been a wonderful learning experience for the students, who gathered for a friendly competition, developed their academic skills and talents, and made new friends.”
LCC was successful in placing winners in 11 categories.
Winners in the area of Spelling, included Mayra Garcia (1st), Karina Rios (2nd), Carmen Leija (3rd), Kimberly Martinez (4th), Cassandra Vega (5th), Jeannie Ramirez (6th), Manuel Castañeda (7th), Sebastian Garza (9th), Lucelia Loribeth Luna (11th), and Alejandro Garza (14th).
In the category of Artistic Expression, Kesia Rodriguez and Kimberly Milera presented a hip hop dance performance and won 5th place.
In the subject of Mathematics I, Luis Almedia won 7th place.
In Mathematics II, the winners included Sean Guerra (1st) and Mark Villarreal (10th).
Winners of the Persuasive Speaking competition were Maylee Barraza (2nd), Angelo Flores (4th) and Luis De La Torre (5th).
Winning in the category of Poetry were Chelsea Chavez (1st) and Eluid De La Cruz (3rd). Isaura Arriaga won 2nd place in Ready Writing.
In Science Level I, Alonzo Chavez won 3rd place and Laura Guzman won 7th place. In Science Level II, the winners included Joanna Buitron (6th), Selene Solis (7th) and Helen Alonzo (9th).
In the College Bowl category, students worked in teams to answer questions about current events. The LCC team won second place. The winners included Guadalupe Cadena, Mario Galvan, Christopher Juarez and Marcos Macias.
Finally, Mark Villarreal was the first place winner of a chess tournament.
LCC Upward Bound staff added that incoming freshmen and sophomores from Laredo and United ISD high schools are currently invited to apply for admission to the summer component of the learning experience.
Registration will be held from May 17 to 20 from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Upward Bound Office, located in Lerma-Peña Learning Center, room 120.
Upward Bound is specifically designed for students whose parents do not hold a four-year bachelor’s degree and are college-bound or meet limited income guidelines.
The program is geared for students who are interested in improving their academic skills and who plan to pursue a college education.
The program’s objectives are to improve students’ high school grade point average, raise their self-esteem, increase standardized test scores, provide assistance in applying for admission to a college, and assist in applying for financial aid and college scholarships.
At least one parent must accompany the student during registration. Applicants should bring their birth certificate, social security card, parents’ 1040 income tax forms, a utility bill, and most recent report card.
Students who are interested in joining Upward Bound are encouraged to apply immediately since enrollment is limited.
For more information, contact the LCC Upward Bound program by calling 721-5238.
Laredo Community College Upward Bound students proudly display trophies they won during the 27th annual South Texas Upward Bound Academic Bowl.
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