During the month of November, Raiders had the opportunity to apply to Upward Bound Channel Islands (UBCI), Channel Islands’ newest program.

UBCI is a higher educational guidance program that provides assistance to motivate freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors to succeed in high school, college and beyond. This year UBCI admitted their first 60 students.

“UBCI is an amazing program whose main goal is to support higher education for all high school students,” said Ms. Zoe Gerowitz, one of the UBCI mentors and program coordinators.

UBCI helps qualified Raiders to successfully complete high school and advance to and complete a college education. Students interested in applying for the program were asked to write a personal statement, go through an oral interview, and fill out an application. A plethora of Raiders applied this year, being the first group of students to be a part of UBCI.

Accepted students have access to assistance and guidance from Dr. Maria Elena Cruz – UBCI Director – and Ms. Zoe Gerowitz throughout their high school career and even six years later. Help from the program includes weekly tutoring, academic courses, workshops, field trips, and a six-week summer college preparatory program. UBCI allows students to obtain exposure to the college life and rigor.

“I found out about the program from Assistant Principal Mr. Ortiz at lunch,” junior Denise Carrillo said. “He told me that there was a new program that I would be interested in. I gave it a shot and applied. I was very excited when I received my acceptance letter.”

Amanda Mora, a junior and another recently admitted UBCI member, said she looks forward to “meeting new people and getting the opportunity to have new experiences while being able to get more involved with UBCI.”

UBCI has planned many exciting volunteer opportunities and fun educational projects and programs for their students. Raiders in the program are in for a real treat. UBCI offers a plethora of amazing opportunities that will greatly benefit their students. If you think UBCI sounds like something you would like to be a part of, apply next year. Like Dr. Cruz always says, “Soar High With UBCI.”