An alarm system fashioned out of solar lights, yarn, Popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners won a first place award for a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Upward Bound program student.
Devan Cason, Madison County High School sophomore and TRIO Upward Bound (BEM) program student, was part of a Think Tank team that won first place for their home alarm mock-up system at the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP) Pre-College Student Leadership Conference (SLC) in October. MAEOPP is a recognized 501(c) 3 non-profit consortium of professionals with the specific purpose of leveling the playing field of educational opportunity for first generation, low income and disabled students.
Eighteen teams competed from the 10 states that make up MAEOPP. Each team received a bag of certain items. Students were responsible for developing a product, a business plan, a financial analysis and a marketing plan. Each group selected a chief executive officer, production manager, financial advisor and director of marketing. Teams presented their business plan, equipped with a one-minute commercial, before an audience of 300 people.
“I was the director of marketing,” said the 15-year-old Cason. “The solar part of the solar light was like a camera and our competition was ADT. Our product was called the Stake Out and our company was named TRIO Vision.
“I was hesitant at first, because I don’t like talking in front of people I don’t know,” she said. “But we had a job to do, and we did it. We won, because we were the best prepared, and our commercial was the most creative.”
Upward Bound is a federally-funded college preparatory program designed to prepare program eligible students from its targets schools to prepare for, enter into, and complete postsecondary education. To that end, Upward Bound affords its students the opportunity to participate in state, regional, and leadership opportunities, the MAEOPP SLC was one such opportunity. Other program activities include academic support, where Cason offered her feedback on her participation on the UB Summer Enrichment component.
“This past summer Upward Bound offered rising freshmen an algebra enrichment class. When I went back to school, I felt like I was a little ahead of the curve,” Cason said. “If I keep going to Upward Bound, I will learn more academically and will be more focused on college.”
“Upward Bound has helped me to be better in school and look towards my future,” said added.
SIUE ESLC TRIO Upward Bound programs are committed to developing year-round education programs, that will excite, motivate and prepare selected high school students from the program’s target schools. We are committed to utilizing researched-based best-practices to prepare our students for successful high school completion and entrance into post-secondary programs. TRIO Upward Bound is a federally-funded college-prep program sponsored by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the U.S. Department of Education.
Photo: Devon Cason