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At one time, Kelsey Horace-Herron, a former Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Upward Bound student, had straight F’s on her high school report card. Now the college sophomore touts a 4.0 grade point average and other academic accomplishments at Jackson State University. 

“I’ve had to overcome some barriers,” said the Cahokia native. “In my sophomore year at Cahokia High School, I let some things get to me, and I had my first fight. I was put on a 10-day suspension and for the first quarter I had all F’s.”

“I realized it wasn’t worth it. I got focused. I stayed in the house and studied,” she said. “Anything I wasn’t caught up on, my best friend Will (Foster) helped me study.”

The next quarter, Horace-Herron made straight A’s. She better understood that if she was going to “break the chain of people not finishing their education” in her family and make it to college, she would need good grades to get there.

A determined mind, good friends and a planned route are the keys that Horace-Herron said helped propel her to academic success at Jackson State. She is majoring in computer engineering and minoring in Spanish.

“Keeping good company around you is extremely important,” she said. “I have two best friends (Foster and Bria Hoke), and we had one goal – to attend and graduate from college.”

When Horace-Herron heard that SIUE Upward Bound helps put students on the path to college, she joined the program as a high school sophomore. She now works as an Upward Bound teacher's assistant and leadership workshop facilitator. 

It was during an Upward Bound Two Degree’s program that explored career possibilities in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), that Horace-Herron spoke to an intellectual property lawyer and decided she also wanted to become one.

“Upward Bound also helped me find the means to make it to college by showing us how to fill out scholarship applications,” she said.

College scholarships that Horace-Herron received came from Jackson State’s STEM Tuition Free Waiver, AmeriCorps, Cahokia Chamber of Commerce and Muriel Hartl. Among her academic accomplishments are memberships in Lambda Sigma Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and National Society of Collegiate Scholars Honors Society.

“Kelsey is a hard worker who is serious about her education,” said SIUE Upward Bound Program Director Javonda Quinn. “She has an unrelenting drive to achieve greatness. Kelsey has decided to give back to Upward Bound in many ways. In addition to being an Upward Bound teacher’s assistant and leadership workshop facilitator, Kelsey is a role model for students in the program.”

“I want to do better, and I have to pave a way for myself,” Horace-Herron said. “If I don’t invest in myself, how can I expect anyone else to? I’m putting in the time and effort now, because it will pay off later.”

Upward Bound helps youth prepare for higher education and serves students from East St. Louis and Cahokia (EC), and Brooklyn, East St. Louis Charter and Madison (BEM) High Schools. Participants receive instruction in literature, composition and STEM subjects on college campuses after school, on Saturdays and during the summer.

The mission of the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School is to prepare students, who are career- and college- ready, upon graduation. To achieve this mission, the school and its staff will positively impact the educational and economic lives of East St. Louis, IL youth. The SIUE Charter High School is a school-of choice for families in the East St. Louis School District 189.

With a focus on empowering people and strengthening communities, the SIUE East St. Louis Center is dedicated to improving the lives of families and individuals - from pre-school through adult - in the Metro East. Head Start/Early Head Start and a charter high school are among the programs that offer the community renewed hope and an opportunity to reach educational, career and life goals. The Center also assigns first priority to encouraging, supporting and improving the educational success of the residents of East St. Louis and surrounding urban communities. The Center provides comprehensive programs, services and training in the areas of education, health, social services and the arts.

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Kelsey Horace-Herron, former SIUE East St. Louis Center Upward Bound student, is a sophomore at Jackson State University.