Celebrating the Urban Upbound College Access Class of 2022

Urban Upbound NYC
3 min readMay 23, 2022

by Tori Kammer, Development & Communications Manager

On Thursday, May 19th, we held the Urban Upbound College Access Class of 2022 Graduation Ceremony at the Museum of Moving Image. Students and their families gathered to celebrate their achievements and academic success.

The evening included light refreshments, provided by F & D Italian Deli, keynote speeches by Eric Gioia and Pete Rose, a heart-warming video from various community members, a passionate address from our CEO, Bishop Mitchell Taylor, and the presentation of program certificates.

Catering provided by D & F Italian Deli — Photo Credit: Urban Upbound

We are beyond proud to share:

  • On average, the students received $51,000 in financial aid/ scholarships
  • Collectively this class submitted 130+ college applications
  • SAT scores improved by an average of 150 points
  • 100% remained engaged in the program virtually throughout the pandemic, and stayed active for 3 consecutive years
  • and most importantly, 100% of the Class of 2022 is enrolled in college for the fall.
Quneetsha Minor and Ciara Waters (Class of 2022) — Photo Credit: Urban Upbound

“These students joined me each week, attending early Saturday morning zoom classes, receiving virtual tutoring, completing assignments, and they remained engaged all throughout the pandemic,” says College Access Program Manager, Quneetsha Minor. “The Class of 2022 spent their most academically rigorous high school years learning in an untraditional classroom. I know this drive and determination to success, against all odds, will take these students very far.”

“The College Access program was designed years ago to level the playing field for low income youth, and give students in our community the tools and resources needed to enroll and succeed in college, says Bishop Mitchell Taylor, Urban Upbound Co-Founder & CEO. “Over the past decade, more than 1,000 students have benefited from our College Access Program. We’ve been able to watch students graduate our program and continue their education to become lawyers, social workers, pre-med students, engineers, educators and more. We can’t wait to see what this class will accomplish next.”

Our College Access Program wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our donors. Your donation allows us to keep reaching more students and level the playing field for low-income youth.

If you’d like to learn more about our impact and work, please follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) or subscribe to our newsletter.

Urban Upbound Class of 2022 — Photo Credit: Urban Upbound

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Urban Upbound NYC

A collection of stories around NYC’s public housing communities curated by Urban Upbound, a non-profit organization with a mission to break cycles of poverty.