Summer Program

What is the summer program?

Each summer, students preparing to enter their sophomore, junior and senior years are required to participate in a six-week residential program located on the University of Southern Maine's Gorham campus. Summer components include academic classes, career exploration, college visits, and cultural, recreational, and community service activities. Participants also complete a part-time paid internship at local area businesses to gain professional work experience. During the week, students live in a residence hall supervised by UB staff. Students will return home most weekends unless camping or participating in a cultural enrichment trip to Boston or New York City.

Student Internships

Last summer, more than 70 Upward Bound students worked at businesses in Falmouth, Gorham, Scarborough, Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook as well as many USM Departments. Employers gave positive feedback on students’ contributions.

USM students cite their summer work experiences as one of the most valuable aspects of their Upward Bound experience. Through internships, Upward Bound students learn about different career choices, gain experience working in a professional environment, and learn firsthand the importance of higher education as a means to achieve a vocation or career.

Are you interested in hosting a student? Students will be available to work Tuesdays and Thursdays from approximately 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM for six weeks starting Tuesday, June 24th and ending Thursday, July 31st. Upward Bound at USM will provide lunch and transportation to and from internship sites.

To professionalize the work experience for students, all Upward Bound interns are paid. Whenever possible host employers compensate students $7.00 per hour, for a total contribution of $504. Internship sites are welcome to pay a portion of the stipend if the site is unable to pay the entire amount. If you would like to host a student but are unable to fund the internship, please let us know.

Other Opportunities

For those professionals who cannot host internships, or for those seeking additional opportunities to support the mission of Upward Bound, there are several other opportunities to provide guidance and mentoring to our students:

Career Exploration Day

Join us on Friday, July 25th from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM on USM’s Portland campus for an opportunity to share your experiences with eager Upward Bound students. Meet with a few small groups of Upward Bound students from USM and Bowdoin College and answer questions about your education, your job, and whatever it is that makes you passionate about what you do every day!

Job Shadows

Host an underclassman for a day, or even a portion of a day, on Wednesday, July 16th and/or Wednesday, July 23rd. Show our students what your job is actually like and give them the opportunity to explore whether or not your job or career field is potentially right for them.

Community Service Projects

Provide a one or two day community service or work experience project for our underclassmen on Wednesday, July 9th and/or Wednesday, July 23rd. Help our newer UB students give to those in need while simultaneously gaining work skills in a low-stress, high-support, hands-on environment.

Support an Upward Bound at USM Student

Support an Upward Bound at USM student by being involved in Upward Bound's summer program activities. Fill out the form and click Submit to submit the form to Upward Bound's Webmaster. If you make an error while entering data, click Reset to erase everything you have typed and start over. Thank you for your time.

Business Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone Number:

Contact Name: Job Title: Career Field: Email:

Select as many as you would like to participate in.

Yes, I want to host a student's internship!

Paid  Unpaid  Partial Paid

Yes, I want to meet with student(s) on Career Exploration Day Friday, July 25, 2008.

Yes, I want to host student(s) in a Job Shadow on Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Yes, I want to host student(s) in a Job Shadow on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

Yes, I want to provide a community service project for student(s) on Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

Yes, I want to provide a community service project for student(s) on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

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