LEGACIE STEWART
Legacie Stewart was part of the TRIO Upward Bound grant at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado. She attended John F. Kennedy High School in Denver and joined TRIO Upward Bound during her junior year. In May of 2020, Legacie was part of the graduating senior class during the pandemic. She took advantage of multiple opportunities and challenged herself with honors, AP, Business Leadership, Economics, and Marketing college courses. As a first-generation student, her aspirations were to enter the Law and Criminology field.
Five months after joining the program, Legacie’s mom passed away unexpectedly. Legacie became an orphan at the age of 17, her dad had passed away when she was 7. After this tragedy, and with the help of Upward Bound, Legacie was able to find the strength and resiliency to keep moving forward in her educational journey. Not only did she want to make herself proud, but she wanted her parents and family to be proud as well. With family support and Legacie’s hard work, she is continuing to become a strong, independent and educated young woman.
Legacie nurtured her social and professional skills by partaking in the junior study tour in southern Colorado, a senior college visit trip to Seattle, committing to academic advising during the school year and by getting selected to attend a STEM Trip with the UB program to Orlando, Florida. Legacie’s academic dedication and passion surpassed expectations. She is selfless, driven and is confident she will be successful.
When asked what her favorite part of TRIO Upward Bound was, Legacie said, “Upward Bound has been an amazing gateway for me to explore many opportunities. My favorite part has been the trips, especially out of state. I’ve always wanted to travel more and I’ve been able to do that with this program. We get to do educational activities along with fun ones that help us build new bonds”. Legacie applied to five institutions in and out of state, got accepted into all of them, and committed to be a Husker at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
JESSE HERRERA
Jesse Herrera is a reflection of his values as a kind, resilient, empathetic, first generation Latino man of integrity. As an alumnus of the Colorado State Upward Bound program, graduating in 2000 from Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, Colorado, Jesse has readily shared the impact that Upward Bound has on his life. He finished high school, and with the support of Upward Bound, was able to find an undergraduate home at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO.
After his undergraduate experience, Jesse went back to Fort Collins to work for the Upward Bound Summer Program as both a teacher and a residence hall counselor. For those that aren’t familiar with running summer programs, we have admiration for someone that took both roles on at the same time. Jesse then decided to take some time experiencing the world through the lens of the Peace Corps and worked to improve the educational system in a local province in South Africa for two years. Following his Peace Corps service, he went back to Upward Bound and worked once again as a Summer Program Counselor.
Jesse has since earned his Master’s degree in Student Affairs Administration while influencing equity and inclusion initiatives at South Dakota State University and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Once again, he went back to Upward Bound in 2018, asking if he could connect with the program in a mentorship around leadership, higher education, and equity. Jesse serves as the Director of the Center for Inclusion at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, where he works to make the university a more welcoming and affirming place for all students, staff, faculty, and community members.
Throughout his story, it is hard to miss the fact that Jesse keeps coming back to Upward Bound in different ways. He is not hesitant to name how important Upward Bound has been throughout his life as a student and a professional. Jesse also continues to connect with his UB advisor and has strengthen the friendship. Without Upward Bound, that connection would never have been created.
