Upward Bound and Talent Search
Double Discovery Center at Columbia University

In the neighborhoods surrounding Columbia University, the average teenager lives below the poverty line, is at risk for dropping out of high school, and has only a slim chance of attending college. Recognizing the critical need for educational intervention in the community, the University’s Double Discovery Center offers local youth an opportunity to beat the educational odds through two programs: Upward Bound and Talent Search.

Upward Bound is one of the original War on Poverty programs created during the 1960s. This intensive, year-round college preparatory program strengthens the academic and life skills of more than 165 high school students every year. Teen participants take academic classes on Saturday, and a counselor provides guidance on both scholastic and personal issues, as well as help with college and career planning. In the summer, students spend six weeks in residence on campus, exploring their artistic abilities through poetry writing workshops and art clubs and developing their scholastic capabilities through a variety of humanities courses.

Talent Search reaches more than 800 middle and high school students annually, providing college and career counseling, academic support services, and personal development workshops. Four days a week in the summer, middle school students attend academic classes on campus. They also participate in field trips, tutoring sessions, and special interest clubs.

Both programs focus on improving language arts skills. In partnership with Columbia University’s School of the Arts, graduate student teachers provide instruction in writing fundamentals and introduce students to literature. Such exposure makes writing more relevant and stimulates lively debate and critical thinking. Works studied range from Homer’s Odyssey and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex to Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” and Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street.

Through an arrangement with the Department of Art History, participants gain access to the University’s Wallach Art Gallery. A variety of visual arts workshops and art-making projects tap into each student’s creative potential. These collaborations between faculty and participants are at the heart of Double Discovery Center, where both students and teachers gain new perspectives.

Upward Bound and Talent Search immerse youth in cultural and intellectual experiences outside their normal existence and refocus their energy on achieving academic goals. Both programs prepare students to pursue a successful college career, radically altering their futures and that of their community.