The AZ HSI Consortium is pleased to announce Upward Bound TRIO as an AZ HSI Evidence-Based Practice. After careful review from colleagues across the state of AZ, the Upward Bound TRIO was shown to be an effective program in moving the needle towards greater college access, persistence, retention, transfer, and degree attainment for students in Arizona.
Please read below to learn more about the JUpward Bound TRIO at the University of Arizona.
Overview of Institution
The University of Arizona is a public, land-grant research university located in Tucson, Arizona. Home to more than 40,000 undergraduates and over 11,000 graduate students, the university offers 150+ majors and is dedicated to empowering students as leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers. Our mission is to continually enhance educational approaches and expand innovative practices to develop solutions for our most significant local and global challenges, inspiring stakeholders to see their vital role in this impact. In 2018, the University of Arizona was federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, reflecting our deep and ongoing commitment to serving diverse communities and fostering an inclusive environment where every student can thrive.
The U.S. Department of Education supports the University of Arizona through several TRIO programs, including Upward Bound, which has been housed at the university since 2017. This transformative program serves 60 students annually from two high-need, underserved schools in Tucson—Pueblo High School and Cholla High School—both located within five miles of the university. Upward Bound provides academic support, enrichment, and opportunities that expand college access for first-generation and low-income students, helping them build the skills, confidence, and networks needed to pursue and complete higher education. These efforts directly contribute to strengthening our local communities by empowering students to succeed academically and socially.
The communities surrounding Pueblo and Cholla High School face significant socioeconomic challenges, including high rates of poverty, single-parent households, and limited access to educational resources. Both schools serve student populations underrepresented mainly in higher education: at Cholla High School, nearly 90% of students come from racial or ethnic minority backgrounds, with 82% identifying as Hispanic (mostly of Mexican descent) and 6% as Native American. Similarly, Pueblo High School serves a student body that is 89% Hispanic and 6% Native American.
While these neighborhoods are often defined by their challenges, they are equally known for their cultural richness, resilience, and vibrancy. Tucson’s south and west side communities are home to deep-rooted traditions, multigenerational family ties, and a strong sense of community pride. Local restaurants, street vendors, festivals, and cultural celebrations reflect a rich blend of Mexican, Indigenous, and borderland heritage, making this region one of the most culturally dynamic areas of the city. Students bring this lived experience, creativity, and cultural wealth into our program, strengthening our work and reminding us that identity is an asset, not a barrier.
By partnering closely with schools located so close to campus, the University of Arizona remains deeply connected to the youth and families of its surrounding community. Through Upward Bound and our broader HSI mission, we strive not only to increase access to higher education but also to honor the cultures, stories, and strengths that shape our students. Our ongoing community initiatives have led to increased college enrollment rates among local students and fostered a sense of shared pride and resilience within Tucson's neighborhoods.
Overview of Program
UB at the University of Arizona is a federally funded pre-college program established in 2017 to boost enrollment and completion rates of postsecondary degrees among first-generation and low-income students. Serving 60 students annually from the culturally rich, predominantly Hispanic communities of Pueblo and Cholla High Schools, UB seeks to address the historical underrepresentation of these groups in higher education.
The program provides comprehensive, year-round services that include tutoring, mentoring, monthly workshops, and a six-week summer program on the UArizona campus. Our mission is to prepare students academically, socially, and personally for college success by utilizing a funds-of-knowledge framework inspired by Dr. Luis Moll. This approach honors and celebrates the cultural, familial, and experiential knowledge students bring, viewing these assets as crucial for learning, identity development, and long-term success (Moll,1992). We strive to foster pride in these cultural backgrounds and build a strong community among our students and stakeholders.
During the academic year, UB offers mentoring and tutoring at the two local high schools. With our near-peer model, we employ undergraduates with similar backgrounds and identities as mentors and tutors, many of whom are UB alumni. Mentors guide students in creating personalized success plans tailored to their high school experiences, focusing on study skills, mental health, goal-setting, and college and career exploration. This near-peer approach enhances students' sense of belonging and trust, benefiting both UB participants and mentors, and fostering a cycle of community support and leadership development. Monthly Saturday workshops help students envision their futures as college students. Topics include identity, financial literacy, STEM, and test preparation, alongside excursions to local sites such as Biosphere 2, the San Xavier Mine, and Tumacacori National Historical Park. These experiences expand students' understanding of Arizona’s history, environment, and cultural richness.
The summer program offers a college-simulated experience through project-based learning in various subjects such as Math, ACT Prep, Geographic Information Systems, humanities, creative writing, cybersecurity, and community art. A significant aspect of the summer experience is the capstone project, which reflects students' interests, identities, and communities. For instance, in collaboration with the EMPOWER program from the College of Engineering, students conducted a service-learning project at a local community garden, many visiting such a space for the first time. Utilizing design thinking, they developed prototypes to enhance the garden, merging engineering principles with community knowledge to effect local change. These experiences aim to boost students’ confidence and inspire hope for their futures, highlighting our commitment to honoring their backgrounds and empowering their voices.
Since its inception, 94% of UB participants have enrolled in postsecondary education in the fall following their high school graduation, showcasing the program's significant impact on the community. Over eight years, UB has produced 134 alumni who have pursued postsecondary education at various institutions, including prestigious scholarships to Ivy League and liberal arts colleges across the nation. These outcomes reflect the program’s effectiveness and reinforce our commitment to supporting student success.
How does this program center servingness?
As a pre-college program serving high school students, servingness is at the core of every aspect of our UB initiative. Our goal is not only to recruit students but to ensure they are genuinely supported, uplifted, and met where they are. This commitment to servingness is reflected in our intentional presence within the communities we serve. While our Saturday workshops and summer programming take place on the University of Arizona campus, we bring the university into students’ neighborhoods every day through on-site mentoring, tutoring, academic support, and workshops at Pueblo and Cholla High Schools. By being physically present in their spaces, we reduce barriers to access and establish trust, demonstrating that college preparation begins with relationships, not requirements.
A key component of our community-centered approach is representation. Our staff members either share similar cultural backgrounds or have deep knowledge of the communities we serve. We also bring in guest speakers and UArizona faculty who reflect our students’ identities—predominantly Latine and BIPOC professionals who honor students’ lived experiences and offer tangible examples of academic and career success. This intentional representation reinforces a sense of belonging and validates students’ identities as assets.
Servingness is further embedded through our commitment to linguistic inclusion. All information is delivered in both English and Spanish to ensure families are fully engaged. Our curriculum also values linguistic capital by embedding storytelling into the program. Through digital storytelling—whether via StoryMaps, videos, or presentations—students are encouraged to tell their own stories, center their identities, and articulate issues that matter to them. Many projects focus on community beautification, local inequities, cultural pride, and neighborhood history, allowing students to use their voices as tools for transformation. By validating students’ cultural and linguistic knowledge within an academic setting, we affirm that their identities are powerful sources of learning, leadership, and community change.