Upward Bound celebrates 50th anniversary Aug. 8 at UMaine
Dr. Betty McCue-Herlihy will attend Upward Bound’s 50th anniversary reunion at the University of Maine on Saturday, Aug. 8 to celebrate the organization’s power to change lives.
It did hers.
Growing up in the 1960s, McCue-Herlihy says her family was poor. She, her nine siblings and their wonderful parents lived in a home without indoor plumbing in a small, rural Maine town.
She vividly remembers being called names and despite doing well in school, being routinely placed in classes that were below her ability.
“In the 1960s, being poor was equated with not being able to succeed,” she says.
When McCue-Herlihy entered her first year of high school, the then-director of Upward Bound invited her to attend the summer program at UMaine.
That summer, and the next three, McCue-Herlihy says she didn’t have to worry about being hungry or sleeping in a crowded bed with siblings.
She went on trips to Prince Edward Island and Mount Katahdin. She remembers feeling welcome, included and equal in all the discussions and activities.
“They told me, ‘You are somebody,’” she says. “It didn’t matter that I was poor. I was treated as a person that had smarts and I was rewarded for that. Going back to [high] school was very difficult.”
Upward Bound, which began at UMaine in 1965–66, provides support to youth from low-income families to prepare for college. The goal is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from colleges and universities.
McCue-Herlihy went on to earn her undergraduate degree in sociology, her master’s in community agency counseling and her Ed.D. in counselor education, all at UMaine.
Today, she is the assistant director for the TRIO Cornerstone Program at the University of Maine at Augusta-Bangor. The program assists students from low-income families, as well as first-generation college students and students with disabilities.
Her email signature block contains a quote from Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
McCue-Herlihy says her job is most rewarding when students believe they can do something and find their voice.
“Poverty takes voices away,” she says.
A couple of years ago, McCue-Herlihy was presented with a Maryann Hartman Award for her demonstrated leadership and role modeling in her field and for reflecting and honoring Hartman’s commitment to women and community.
McCue-Herlihy says she’s looking forward to celebrating the power of people at Upward Bound’s 50th reunion and meeting others who have been buoyed by the program.
As many as 400 alumni are expected at the celebration, says Becky Colannino, director of TRIO Upward Bound Math Science at UMaine. Colannino says since 1966, Upward Bound at UMaine has served approximately 2,000 students.
The agenda for the reunion, which will be held 1–5 p.m. Aug. 8 at the New Balance Student Recreation Center on campus, will be posted online at umaine.edu/ub/ub-50th-anniversary-reunion-event.
Contact: Beth Staples, 207.581.3777