UMass Amherst Upward Bound Awarded Grant to Create Pilot Internship Program

Bridget Hynes, director of UMass Amherst Upward Bound, has been awarded a grant from the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) to develop an internship program for pre-college and undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics fields.

UMass Amherst Upward Bound, a year-round federally sponsored educational program serving students from Springfield’s High School of Commerce, is one of only five sites chosen nationally as a partner for this pilot program developed by COE in cooperation with Comcast. Upward Bound's goal is to increase the rate at which participants successfully complete high school, enroll in and graduate from college. Students involved in Upward Bound at UMass Amherst will be placed in campus labs and at community sites that focus on equity and access in public health. All COE-Comcast internships will be completed virtually this year, and will serve to inform broader TRIO internship programs in development for the future.