CASTLETON—In memory of a well-loved student, the Castleton Upward Bound program will help students in their pursuit of higher education as it rewards deserving students with the newly dedicated scholarship fund, the Alexandra “Alix” Brown Scholarship.
Alix Brown was a student at Rutland Senior High School and a member of the Castleton Upward Bound program when she passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 21, 2007. At about that time Castleton Upward Bound also began its scholarship fund to help students in the program finance a college education. Brown was known for her great potential and motivation to attend college, which is the type of student this scholarship intends to reward.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be participants in the Castleton Upward Bound program, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher by their senior year of high school and complete an essay requirement. Annual awards range from $100 to $750 per student based on yearly fundraising goals and the essay competition.
This spring, Pamela Lenoci, Alix’s mother, will be a reader for the essay competition.
Castleton Upward Bound, established in 2003, has served more than 200 local high school students. It is a federally funded TRIO program that serves students who are the first in their family to pursue a college education or who have a modest family income. Since its inception, 75 percent of Castleton Upward Bound students have enrolled in college immediately following high school graduation, compared to just 35 percent of low-income Vermont high school graduates.
Castleton University Upward Bound is 100 percent federally funded at $262,500 annually.
