Barton County Upward Bound

11/18/2025

Both Kim and Dan have taught for Upward Bound for many summers. Their family was in a terrible car accident. Our UB family is a close knit one and they could very much use our support right now ❤️

HELP SUPPORT THE HEATHS! Two of my biggest mentors and teachers, Dan and Kim Heath, were in an accident recently in Denver. The Great Bend school district confirmed with me that they were rear-ended in an accident, and they, along with one of their kids, were hurt. Dan is still in the hospital, and while he is improving, it sounds like a long road to recovery.

Dan and Kim were my debate and forensic coaches in Wellington. They left the biggest impression on my life. They made me a confident public speaker and actor. I was their babysitter! They bought me my first lottery ticket -- to celebrate graduation. They were there for my wedding.

After their time in Wellington, they moved to Great Bend, and they’ve both been incredible parts of the community there. Kim is the Great Bend High School speech, debate and forensics coach. She received the Secondary Educator of the Year Award for the Kansas Speech Communication Association this year.

If you can support them, I trust they would appreciate it a lot. You can give here: https://www.kwch.com/2025/11/18/great-bend-educators-badly-hurt-denver-crash/

09/18/2025

It's official! We're back! BCUB is refunded for the 25/26 school year!

We miss you and we're ready to jump right into school visits!

EHS: Tuesdays during Eagle time
GBHS: Thursdays during Connect
HHS: Thursdays during Seminar C

We can't wait to see you all next week and get this school year started!

07/22/2025

We're in the news! We're continuing to advocate for our TRIO programs and hope you are doing the same! We have 41 days left in this year's funding and have yet to hear about the 25/26 school year. Keep speaking out about why Upward Bound is important to you!

With the possibility of federally funded TRIO programs facing budget cuts, Barton Community College’s Board of Trustees last week heard a report on one such program, Barton County Upward Bound (BCUB). This program sponsors 60 low-income and first-generation high school students from Great Bend, Ho...

06/05/2025

The Big Bend Bash and Parade is this Saturday!

If you’re joining us to walk in the parade, please meet at 9:15 at the “Barton TRIO” space on the map below. It is in the Brit Spaugh Zoo parking lot between the train and pool. Look for the Barton semi and trailer!

If you ordered a TRIO shirt, we will have it with us on Saturday. If you missed out on orders, we will have extras for purchase!

The theme is Red, White, and Blue and we’ll be taking lots of photos to celebrate our TRIO turnout! See you soon!

05/11/2025

We have all three high schools graduating on the same day! Congratulations to all of our seniors! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what you do with your future! Remember that you are upward bound and your goal is a college degree! 🎓

05/10/2025

Barton TRIO needs your support!

If you haven't heard, the presidential recommendation for fiscal year 2026 is to cut all TRIO funding nationwide. Our job now is to show congress how much support we have & convince them that this recommendation is wrong!

We will be rolling out a lot of educational material about how you can advocate for TRIO but our first request is for you to complete at least one if not all three of these steps!

1) Barton TRIO will be marching in the Big Bend Bash parade on June 7th to show how much support we have! Please consider joining us whether you are a current student, alumni, or supporter. Go to www.tinyurl.com/TRIOparade to get more info & register so that we can plan for how many people to expect! We do ask that all participants purchase and wear our TRIO shirt.

2) We are selling TRIO shirts for you to show your TRIO support whenever you want. A small portion of shirt sales will go to Barton TRIO programs. Shirts can be shipped for a fee or you can pick it up for free at the parade! Shirts must be ordered by May 18th. Our store link is https://bartoncctrio.itemorder.com .
***Current TRIO Students check with your program to get a TRIO student shirt.

3.) Follow TRIO social media accounts to stay up to date and learn more!
BCUB - https://www.facebook.com/bartoncountyupwardbound
CKUB - https://www.facebook.com/bartonckub
SSS - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556415635040
Alumni - https://www.facebook.com/groups/571860352590805

Thank you for supporting TRIO and our students!

03/25/2025

Great job Cards! Proud to have 5 BCUB students honored!

HHS honored the seniors with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 at the USD 431 Board of Education Senior Honors Banquet. Each student will receive a scholarship. Congratulations!

03/24/2025

Great job Diane Alvarez! We are proud of all of the hard work you put in!

Meet one of our two interns, Great Bend High School senior, Diane Alvarez! Welcome, Diane!

The Great Bend High School internship program is a wonderful way for our team to give back to the community we serve and educate the next generation of healthcare professionals.

11/01/2024

Happy Halloween!🎃 👻

BCUB participated in the Ellinwood Trunk or Treat this year. Which trunk is your favorite?

10/17/2024

We are extremely proud to announce that all 3 of our QuestBridge applicants were selected as Questbridge College Match Finalists!

Congratulations AJ, Diane, & Diego; your hard work is paying off!! 🥳

In 2024, out of over 25,500 applications, 7,288 students were selected as National College Match Finalists.

Our students will now advance to the match portion of the competition. Any student who matches with one of the schools they ranked will receive early admittance with a guaranteed full four-year Match Scholarship that covers the full cost of attendance including tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, and travel expenses.

Now we anxiously await match day on December 2nd. 😬🤞🏻

09/27/2024

Ready for the big reveal?

We were selected for the Creating Possibilities - $15,000 Sunflower Bank Community Partner Award!! Thank you so much to everyone that filled out the form and nominated us! We are honored to have such incredible support from our community! We are very grateful for the partnership that Sunflower Bank has provided BCUB through financial literacy lessons and now this amazing funding opportunity!

09/25/2024

Let’s have a little fun!
Caption this photo of Becca & Kelsey today! 🙀We can’t wait to reveal what it’s really about & we might have a treat for our favorite caption!