UBMS Wichita Star - February Issue by Lydia Santiago

Wichita Star U

Volume 23, Issue 4 – Upward Bound Math Science at Wichita State University

Student Newsletter February 2015

POPSSOCIAL CULTURALFAMILY NIGHTCAMPUS VISITSCOMMUNITY SERVICE

Words from our Director: Mrs. Kaye Monk-Morgan The New Year has begun and we are “off to the races!” Many of you no doubt made New Year Resolutions, it is my hope that you are working towards accomplishing them. I want to encourage you each to set some goals… real goals, set in the reality of your lives. Perhaps you want to complete your FAFSA by March 1 or read a book that has not been assigned by a teacher, or even work to increase your cumulative GPA by 0.50 points. Whatever it is, do some benchmarking and base your goal on something of a foundation. While developing your goals, consider adding one that enhances your network! As you may remember from this summer, “Your NETWORK determines your NETWORTH!” I recently received an email from Nikki, 5-year UBMS participant, reporting her recent conversation with one of our mentors from the summer. Nikki followed up on her interaction with banker, Clay Bastian. Mr. Bastian responded to her email and a brief encounter could very well become a real mentoring relationship. Nikki’s net worth is increasing as a result of building her network.

The UBMS network is growing too! Some of you have had the opportunity to meet the newest addition to the UBMS family, Mr. Lance Onstott. Mr. Onstott is a history teacher by training who has joined UBMS as our Assistant Director. Mr. Onstott’s onboarding brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to support instruction and academic support. We also have a different opportunity to work with teachers and high schools in our target area. Opening one’s network to new persons with additional connections provides new opportunities and increases one’s ability to move forward on any number of issues. I want to encourage each of you to think broadly this year on how you will build your network. Are there segments of your community with which you need stronger relationships? Teachers? Employers? Peers? Are most of your friends involved in athletics? Could you benefit from building relationships with some theater buffs?

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page 2  In Focus with the Assistant Director  Senior Section-Class of 2015 Page 3  Announcements  UBMS Woo Hoo’s  TRIO Community Contributor

Important Dates in February 7

Yours in service,

TRIO Day 50 Year Celebration

Community Service To be announced

Academic Strength Training (AST) 5:00PM to 6:30PM RSC 266 – Lucas

21 I am excited about 2015 and what is in store for UBMS and our students. I hope that you are too! I look forward to seeing you at programming activities throughout the spring!

Leadership Symposium Butler Community College

Campus Visit Kansas State University

UBMS Family Night Marcus Welcome Center

POPS = Preparing Ourselves for Purpose AST = Academic Strength Training

~ Mama Morgan

EMAIL  ubms@wichita.edu TWITTER @WSUUBMS FACEBOOK PAGE Upward Bound Math Science - UBMS

Check Facebook for Invites * Response Required* GOOGLE+ Wichita State UBMS Program PHONE  316-978-3316

 TRIO Upward Bound Math Science

IN FOCUS with the ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Lance Onstott Dear Students,

at Wichita State University

students, figure out many ways to educate themselves. It is extremely valuable to train the mind to stand apart, and I hope to guide you through the process of becoming this type of student, and eventually this type of person in general.

My name is Lance Onstott, and I am honored to be presented with the opportunity to serve you as Assistant Director of the Upward Bound Math Science Center at Wichita State University. I could not be more excited to be joining a program that has both the opportunity and responsibility to provide such meaningful services to students, families, and to the community as a whole. I can’t wait to start contributing my part to our mission of developing students here at UBMS. I hope to meet many of you in person as I settle in and become more present to both you and your families.

Reading

I want to take some time to communicate some of the aspects of our program that are important to me. These are all things that I will stress throughout our time together. My goal is to assist, guide, and offer both professional and personal advice to each of you as you journey through what is arguably the most defining period of your life – the period you are in right now.

Writing

“Someday, in the years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now … Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process.” -- Phillips Brooks The question that begs to be answered: How can I, and the program, assist in you “gloriously conquering” your aspirations, goals, and dreams? There is no short answer to this question, but I will give you a preview of a couple key concepts that can serve as building blocks to further examination of the question. Education I want to emphasize how important it is for me to provide you with educational experiences that will continue to hone and expand your mind. Sometimes this will involve the traditional discipline of the classroom, but many other occasions it will not. The program cannot be alone in this objective. Proactive people, not just

 WICHITA STAR FEBRUARY 2015

“The person who doesn’t read is no better off than the person who can’t read.” – Stephen Covey To accomplish our academic and personal goals it is important to read broadly. Reading broadly exposes oneself to great minds. Reading can get you into the best minds that are now or that have ever been in the world. We will talk more about reading as we advance into our relationship – just know that it is important to you reaching your academic and personal goals, thus it is important to me.

Writing is another immensely powerful tool. Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings promotes mental clarity, exactness, and context. The ability to communicate articulately and on a deeper level affects our ability to think clearly, to reason accurately, and to be understood effectively. (Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Convey, Stephen) To end my first newsletter article to you, I want to offer you one last piece of advice as you continue on the path that will ultimately lead to the fulfillment of your dreams: Begin with an ending in mind. Visualize what your end looks like, and hold on to that image. Practice being able to mentally organize your thoughts, actions, and future plans in a way that is designed to bring that end – that image – to fruition. I look forward to meeting those of you whom I have not yet had the pleasure to meet as of yet. Mrs. Morgan sold me on this program being a family, and family is the single most important aspect in my life. I would like to thank those of you whom I have had the opportunity to meet for being so welcoming, and know that I am extremely humbled to join such a large and driven family of people doing some really important things. I most look forward to the beginning of my contribution to the program and especially my service to you. --Lance Onstott, Assistant Director

SENIOR SECTION Class of 2015

Senior Updates  All seniors should have applied to all of their top schools by now. If you have not, please contact Mrs. Morgan ASAP! Every senior should be applying for at least one scholarship a week. If you require help with your applications, please see an UBMS staff member. If you require a letter of recommendation, please give Mrs. Morgan at least two weeks to complete the task. Less time given decreases the poignancy of your letter. The second round of senior meetings will take place in late February and early March. ACT Dates and Waivers Thank you to all UBMS Seniors who took the ACT test on December 13, 2014. Senior Celebrations  Congratulations to Zeri Ferikhun, UBMS senior for his recent admission to Northwestern University in Chicago. Zeri will attend on a FULL RIDE Scholarship. Woo-Hoo! #TRIOWORKS

A N N O U N C E M E N T S  ACT Dates and Waivers Thank you to all UBMS Juniors and Seniors who took the ACT test on December 13, 2014. UBMS will register rising Juniors and rising th Seniors for the June 13 test. UBMS will not pay registration fees for additional tests in the meantime. Students who failed to test without communicating with the UBMS office may forfeit some or all of their entire summer stipend to offset the cost of fees for reregistration. All Students will receive a “lesson plan” detailing areas of focus for further study in preparation for the June test. Please continue to work through the Victory in the Valley and Big Book of Skills books. Recruitment and Retention The UBMS recruitment season is underway. If you have friends interested in joining our family, please have them complete the UBMS application, found on the UBMS website at www.wichita.edu/ubms. The deadline for application is February 27, 2015. Several UBMS students were either terminated or placed on probation for lack of attendance, effective December 2014. Please note that students who fail to attend at least 50% of activities hosted in their communities will not be eligible for summer participation. (i.e. UBMS hosts four activities in Hutchinson, students who live in Hutchinson must attend at least two of the sponsored activities in order to participate in the summer program.) All students are considered INACTIVE until the following academic year. The U.S. Department of Education expects UBMS to work with you towards your goals. If you are not taking advantage of service delivery, we are forced to believe that you don’t need or want our help. UBMS maintains a waiting list of 40+ students each year. We will enroll a student who finds our services both desirable and helpful.

February 7, 2015 UBMS will partner with several other Youth Serving Organizations to sponsor a Leadership Symposium at Butler County Community College. All local and Hutchinson students are encouraged to attend as this activity replaces POPS on the calendar.

February 21, 2015 UBMS will partner with several other Youth Serving Organizations to sponsor a campus tour to Kansas State University. This activity will take place in lieu of POPS. Seniors who are admitted to a school of their choice will have an alternate activity scheduled.

UBMS WOO HOO’S UBMS Student Congratulations Congratulations to the following local students for earning an academic year stipend for their fall semester participation. $75 for 75%+ Participation Lilia Marquez, Conner Ratliff, Brenna Storlie, and Zane Storlie $50 for 70%+ Participation Mahalia Clemons, Angelica Delgado, Pedro Dominquez, Anautica Bodney, Jesus Manzano, and Whitney Mayberry $25 for 50%+ Participation Solomon Carroll, Anthony Ruybal, Jessica Griffin, Shylee Johnson, Douglas Newman, and Matthew Sen Payton Morgan (65%) & Cameron Morgan (59%) received their stipends from Mr. & Mrs. Morgan directly not from the UBMS funding. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU st  Solomon Carroll, February 1  Pedro Dominquez, February 5 th

 Armon Jones, February 9

 Payton Morgan, February 20

 Fermina Orosco, February 24 Upcoming Events Sophomore and Junior Family conferences will be held in February and March. Look forward to hearing from Mrs. Banks to schedule your time with Mrs. Morgan and Mr. Onstott. Intervention meetings will be held soon for those students who earned GPA’s less than the program minimum of 2.75. Please be responsive to these requests for meetings. The UBMS office wants to help you with academic success.

T RI O CO MMU N IT Y CO NTR IBUT OR S  The Importance of Networking Mrs. Deltha Q. Colvin Networking is an activity that is critical to all programs today. There are a large number of methods that can be used, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Email etc. What is important is what works best for the situation at hand, get the greatest impact,

EMAIL  ubms@wichita.edu TWITTER @WSUUBMS FACEBOOK PAGE Upward Bound Math Science - UBMS

and serve the greatest number of individuals. It is also important to know the age group of the individuals you want to impact. Networking helps convey a message, support for individuals and let others know who you are and what you want to communicate. The attitude of the individuals involved is very important and should be pleasant. A good relationship helps you to learn more and make improvements. One needs to decide how best to communicate, one-on-one, advisory group, committee, or other format. It is always important to interact with positive diplomacy and if you are communicating in writing, always know that what you write is a representation of you. When publishing written information on the internet it never goes away. So, always give thought to what is put in print. For a student going to college, networking is important as you interact with others. Whether you are in a program, organization, sorority or fraternity, or even designing an effort, how you network with others will make all the difference in your success. It is always best to lay-out in writing what you want to accomplish. So that you can see in writing what your goals and objectives are, your mission, anticipated outcomes, and how you plan to evaluate your success, it makes it easier for you to make improvements as necessary. This will also help you to stay focused and work toward an anticipated goal. As time passes you also have a record to rely on and not have to go by your best possible memory. It also gives you the opportunity to perfect what you have developed. This can afford you many opportunities to publish or produce a product. Also, decide costs if this becomes necessary. The importance of networking must be prevalent in the minds of all who wish for success. The method of reaching that success is how you network with others. Think about what is best and most comfortable for you. So, important is the approach taken to effectively network with others. As you think back on your networking experience I hope you will think of ways to make it better and better.  COLLEGE & CAREERS

UBMS campus visit scheduled st for February 21 .

GOOGLE+ Wichita State UBMS Program PHONE  316-978-3316

Wichita Star is a monthly publication of the TRIO Upward Bound Math Science Center at Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and a College Access Challenge Grant from the Kansas Board of Regents. TRIO Upward Bound Math Science is hosted by Wichita State University. The Center has been fully funded since 1992. Wichita State University is committed to providing comprehensive educational opportunities in an urban setting. Through teaching, scholarship and public service the University seeks to equip both students and the larger community with the educational and cultural tools they need to thrive in a complex world, and to achieve both individual responsibility in their own lives and effective citizenship in the local, national and global community. Wichita State University does not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, and political affiliation, status as a veteran or disability. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

EMAIL  ubms@wichita.edu TWITTER @WSUUBMS FACEBOOK PAGE Upward Bound Math Science - UBMS

GOOGLE+ Wichita State UBMS Program PHONE  316-978-3316