Continental Airlines ‘Volando Al Futuro’.

Continental Airlines announced a partnership with Upward Bound educational programs in six cities called “Volando al Futuro/Flying Toward the Future,” which will facilitate college campus visits for Hispanic high school students and their parents.

Upward Bound is a project of the federal government’s TRIO program designed to prepare low-income first-generation college-bound students for the college experience. During the 2002-2003 academic year, Continental will work with Upward Bound programs in Houston, New York, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, D.C., to award airline tickets to deserving high school senior participants who have been accepted to a college or university in the continental U.S. that is farther than a six-hour drive from their home. The Upward Bound students and their parents will use the tickets to visit the college campus to help them evaluate the decision to go to college outside their hometowns.

“‘Volando al Futuro’ exemplifies two Continental Airlines’ cornerstone philosophies, ‘Fund the Future’ and ‘Working Together,’ by making it possible for high-achieving Hispanic Upward Bound participants in these cities to take advantage of a wider world of educational opportunities,” said María Cristina Osorio, Manager of Public Relations, Latin America,
Continental Airlines.

“Sometimes Hispanic students forego college opportunities because their parents are concerned about letting them move away from the family,” said Joyce McQueen, Director, Trinity University Upward Bound, San Antonio. “We thank Continental Airlines for providing the parents of our participating students the chance to feel more comfortable about where their children will be living and studying – an experience they probably would not have had otherwise.”

Upward Bound offices are located on college campuses or in community organizations. Continental’s “Volando al Futuro/Flying Toward the Future” program will work with Upward Bound programs at the following locations during the 2002-2003 academic year: Houston Community College, Houston, Texas; Columbia University, New York City; Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas; East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles, Calif.; the University of Colorado at Denver; and the Latin American Youth Center/George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Upward Bound officials at each of those locations will determine the selection process and administer the airline tickets.

TRIO Programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search and Special Services) were established by the federal government in 1965 to ensure equal educational opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, ethnic background, or economic circumstance. In many communities, the TRIO Programs are some of the only programs available that help students to overcome the class, social, academic and cultural barriers to higher education. In 1968, Upward Bound was transferred from the Office of Economic Opportunity into the Higher Education Act.

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