ST. JOHNSBURY – Miranda Degreenia, of St. Johnsbury, a senior at St. Johnsbury Academy, has been a participant in the Northern Vermont University-Lyndon Upward Bound program for the last four years. Upward Bound is one of the federally funded TRIO educational opportunity programs, and supports students from modest-income backgrounds who are often the first in their families to attend college.
Miranda joined Upward Bound in order to prepare for college academically, socially and culturally, and has taken advantage of every opportunity that has been presented to her including leadership trips, college tours, cultural activities, and living on the NVU-Lyndon campus for three summers as part of Upward Bound’s residential program. It really takes a student who is fully devoted to their education and career goals to willingly sacrifice their summers to a residential academic program and Miranda has done just that, proving how strong her desire is to pursue post-secondary education and create a bright and successful future for herself. She realizes how much her participation in the program added to her summer and helped her become more prepared for college.
After hours of college and career research, college tours, conversations with school, admissions, and Upward Bound counselors, and filling out and submitting all college applications and financial aid forms, Miranda has now been accepted to three of the five colleges for which she applied. She was accepted to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and awarded the Presidential scholarship for her academic excellence, an amount totaling $15,000. She was also accepted At Vermont’s own NVU-Lyndon and Castleton University, earning scholarships of $2,000 and $5,000 in merit aid respectively.
Miranda has worked hard to create these opportunities for herself; juggling a rigorous college preparatory course load, maintaining honor roll status, serving on the student council, being an active member of the National Honor Society, taking advantage of leadership and cultural activities and participating in other extracurricular activities, such as theater.
Not only does Miranda have a strong work ethic and natural academic ability, but she is also passionate about making a difference in the world and in her community and plans to study Global Studies or Sociology so that she can gain a better understanding of national and global issues and how she can contribute to positive change. She also has a desire to travel the world and last year, Miranda was one of six students selected to study abroad in Jeju, South Korea. Miranda loved her time there and reports that she was able to expand her world view and build vital cultural and social capital.
Miranda has also dedicated nearly 300 hours of service to improving and helping her community and truly understands what it means to give back. It is safe to say that Miranda has a bright future ahead of her and is already paving her path to success.
Upward Bound at NVU–Lyndon is a college preparatory program funded through the United States Department of Education committed to providing modest income, First Generation College bound students the academic background, college preparatory experiences, and support needed to succeed in college immediately after high school. The program works with 75 students in nine Northeast Kingdom high schools, who are dedicated to achieving their post-secondary dreams. Upward Bound students receive support services throughout the school year and spend six weeks of their summer on the campus of NVU – Lyndon. For more information, contact Rick Williams in the Upward Bound Office at (802) 626-5000.
