The La Crosse National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office participated in its first Upward Bound Program hosted by UW-La Crosse and La Crosse Central High School on November 10, 2007. 

Many local La Crosse/Onalaska businessmen and women took time out of their busy Saturday afternoon to take part in a round table discussion about careers in Design and Engineering, Arts and Humanities, Business, Law, Education, Health Service, Social Service, Science and Computers.  Each of the nine career groups had two to three individuals speak about their careers at a table with about twelve students from six local high schools from the La Crosse area. 

The Upward Bound Project at UW-La Crosse was created by Congress to help students overcome educational, social, cultural, and financial barriers to higher education.  Eighty-five students are selected from low income homes and or homes where neither parent has a four year college degree. 

Participants include African-, Asian-, Euro-, and Hispanic-Americans, American Indians, Southeast Asian refuge students and students with disabilities.  Upward Bound students have been very successful because of this excellent program. 

Of the 81 participants who graduated from the program from 1998 to 2002, 47% percent have graduated from postsecondary institutions with 27% still enrolled in their postsecondary degree programs.