Hamilton High School students benefit as Miami’s Upward Bound secures $308K in federal funds
Grant renewal expands college-prep opportunities for 60 first-generation and underserved students
Hamilton High School students benefit as Miami’s Upward Bound secures $308K in federal funds
Miami University’s TRIO Upward Bound program has secured $308,899 in renewed federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education for the 2025-26 school year, ensuring Hamilton High students can continue accessing academic advising, tutoring, community service, and college- and career-prep opportunities.
The program hosted its annual Summer College Academy at Miami University’s Hamilton campus, where enrollment more than doubled from the previous year with 40 Hamilton High School students completing the six-week program.
“This renewed funding is fantastic news for our Hamilton High students. Miami University's Upward Bound program's ability to offer academic support, college prep, and community engagement is invaluable in shaping their paths forward,” Hamilton City Schools superintendent Andrea Blevins said.
“For so many of our students, they don't even know what is possible, and the Upward Bound program has helped to provide critical experiences that help them envision themselves in positions, locations, and careers they never even dreamed possible.”
Each day, students participated in rigorous courses taught by Miami faculty and local high school teachers, including botany, college readiness, composition and rhetoric, constructive dialogue, creative writing, ecology, mathematics, and microbiology.
“Empowering minds and strengthening community begins with opportunity,” said Moira Casey, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science. “This renewed funding allows more students the opportunity to participate in the Summer College Academy, in turn providing more students with the tools and mentorship they need to realize the importance of their dreams.”
The Summer College Academy expanded its “Upward Bound Around Town” series launched in 2024 and featured visits with local leaders and organizations such as LemonGrenade Creative, the Lane Public Libraries, 17 Strong, Neil Cohen, the Groundwater Consortium, Inspiration Studios, RiversEdge Amphitheater, Hamilton Central YMCA, Butler County Sewer & Water, the Hamilton Community Foundation, the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Originary Arts Initiative, Miami University School of Nursing, and the Boys and Girls Club of Hamilton.
The Academy concluded in July with a graduation and awards ceremony featuring remarks from Mayor Pat Moeller and attended by more than 120 guests honoring the students’ achievements.
Other highlights from the Summer College Academy include a field trip to the National Underground Railroad Museum made possible by a generous grant from the organization; a week-long college simulation camp experience at Miami University Oxford; participation in the Southwest Ohio TRIO Olympics at Central State University, where students took home awards in volleyball, chess, and quizbowl; and, a week-long college-exploration field trip to Nashville that included stops like Vanderbilt University, the Tennessee State Museum, and the Nashville Zoo.
“Miami University and the Hamilton community are purposefully interconnected,” Casey said. “When students engage with local leaders, businesses, and artists through these experiences, they begin to see that their hometown is full of possibility, and that they have a place in shaping its future.”
The program serves 60 Hamilton High School students annually. Students are admitted to the program through an application process, and are future first-generation college students or students facing economic hardship. To learn more about Miami University’s TRIO Upward Bound program, visit MiamiOH.edu/Regionals/UpwardBound.
