Testimonials

UPals Parents and Students share their thoughts and experiences about the program.

“My daughter learned about careers outside of teaching. No one in our family has gone to college except an aunt who became a teacher.”
— Nathan Hale Middle School Parent

“I have never seen my kid talking to other smart kids. She never really has any smart friends in the neighborhood, so she never gets to talk about important things. I really didn’t know she knew all of this stuff. UPals helps her have other friends she can talk to.”
— West Rocks Middle School Parent

“The professors were really cool. They taught us things that we would never have learned in regular school. I really didn’t mind the homework. We could do it in Study Hall or take it home. I wanted to do all my homework with my new friends.”
— West Rocks Middle School Student

“UPals is a great program. These kids get exposed to college and start to see themselves as college material.”
— Nathan Hale Middle School Administrator

College Access and Michelle Obama:

The context: Many of the UC Merced graduates were the first in their families to earn college degrees, and Mrs. Obama said, "By using what you have learned here, you can shorten the path perhaps for kids who may not see a path at all.

"I was once one of those kids. Most of you were once one of those kids," and then told the students how she grew up just a few miles from the University of Chicago.

"Yet that university never played a meaningful role in my academic development. The institution made no effort to reach out to me — a bright and promising student in their midst — and I had no reason to believe there was a place for me there.

"Therefore, when it came time for me to apply to college, I never ... considered the university in my own backyard as a viable option."
(Read full article: Michelle Obama's early alienation from the University of Chicago. UC Merced speech transcript)