Columns
Thursday, April 13, 2006
keeping faith with samantha
By Senator Tom Harkin
When President George W. Bush talks about creating an “opportunity society” – an America where young people are given abundant educational opportunities to help them succeed in life – I am his biggest supporter. But I was dismayed when the President unveiled a budget for 2007 that would eliminate funding for Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search – programs that give an extra academic boost to at-risk and low-income students who want to go to college. One of those students is a high school junior from Waterloo, Iowa, named Samantha Pickard. I met Samantha earlier this year when she came to Washington to speak at a press conference in support of Upward Bound. She dazzled everyone with her poise and eloquence – and her personal story:
Samantha’s mom was a meth addict and drug dealer who was eventually sent to prison. But Samantha was blessed with a grandmother who encouraged her to do well in school. Another real Godsend for Samantha was the Upward Bound program. Upward Bound gave her mentoring and tutoring, including a six-week stay on the University of Northern Iowa campus during the summer. Most importantly, Upward Bound gave Samantha new confidence in herself – to the point where she now aspires not just to go to college, but to become a doctor.
There are hundreds of thousands of Samantha Pickards in Upward Bound programs all across America. If this program is eliminated, their dreams will be shattered and their futures will be put at risk. We can’t allow this to happen. Surely in the President’s budget – which calls for nearly $300 billion in additional tax cuts over the next five years – he can find enough money to save this extraordinarily valuable and successful program.
Upward Bound and other so-called “TRIO programs” have a proven track record of helping disadvantaged Iowans to aspire to college, prepare for college, and graduate from college. My message to President Bush is simple and sincere: If we are serious about creating an “opportunity society” in America, then we should be expanding these programs, not cutting them. We should be keeping faith with Samantha Pickard.
