By Rick Williams, NVU-Lyndon

Twin’s sisters from Lyndon Institute and the Northern Vermont University Lyndon Upward Bound program have been excelling through their senior year. Upward Bound is one of the federally funded TRIO educational opportunity programs, and supports students from modest-income backgrounds who are often the first in their families to attend college.

Adrianna joined Upward Bound to become better prepared for college and has taken advantage of the opportunities to broaden her view of the world beyond the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She has been a dedicated 4-year member of the Northern Vermont University - Lyndon Upward Bound program, and spent the past two summers living on the university’s campus, taking college-preparatory courses and volunteering in our community. In the time we have worked with her, Adrianna has shown herself to be a diligent, hard-working, and witty young scholar.

Adrianna is a senior at Lyndon Institute in Lyndonville, Vermont, where she maintains impressive grades while taking a difficult course load – including honors and AP classes. She has been on LI’s honor roll her entire high school career, and is a member of the school’s Athletic Honor Society. Adrianna has accomplished all of this as a two-sport athlete, competing at the state championships for both track and field and cross country for the past three years. She pushes herself each year to improve both in school and in her athletics. This past fall, she was inducted into the National Honor Society along with her sister, Natalie.  

This past summer, she has given over 60 hours of service to the Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, where she contacted local businesses to collect the necessary information to add them to the Chamber’s business directory. Her supervisor described her as a bright and engaged young woman who tackled each task assigned to her with a positive attitude and an eagerness to learn. Adrianna gained valuable career experience at the Chamber, much of which will serve her well as she pursues a degree in Journalism.

Natalie joined the Lyndon Upward Bound program a year after her sister started, and spent the past two summers living on the university’s campus, enjoying all that the University and the program had to offer. She immediately made an impact and worked to get as much as her sister did the previous year. While working with us, Natalie has shown herself to be a purposeful, kind, and well-rounded young scholar.

Natalie is also a senior at Lyndon Institute, where she maintains impressive grades while taking a difficult course load – including honors classes. She is a member of the school’s Athletic Honor Society, and has been on their honor roll her entire high school career, and was also recently admitted into the national Honor Society. She has accomplished this as a two-sport athlete, competing in both cross country and track and field. Natalie is also a leader in her school community, having served as both a team manager and team captain, as well as being elected as a class representative for LI’s senior class. She gives everything she does her best effort, and takes pride in the work she does. 

With Upward Bound this summer, Natalie has given more than sixty hours of service to Dog Mountain – a dog park in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont. Her supervisor raved about her, saying that she could trust Natalie’s work completely and depend on her to represent Dog Mountain with professionalism and cheerful positivity. She flourished working with animals and people alike, a strong testament to her character. It was an outstanding work environment for Natalie and one that allowed her to thrive! Natalie plans to pursue a degree in Marine Biology. And she is an emerging young scholar who, although quiet, is truly finding her voice. 

Natalie and Adrianna are twins, but each have developed their own interest, passions, and plans and will most likely attend different colleges. Like many of the students in the Upward Bound program, both young scholars have worked extremely hard to become better prepared for college. But additionally, these students have taken advantage of all the program offered them including college tours, SAT preparation, and hundreds of hours of community service. This is addition to being committed to their high school course work, training for running, and being fully involved in the program.  

This next fall will be a change for the Webster twins.  For the first time they may live in other states and most likely will be attending different colleges. Adrianna has already been accepted at Husson University, the University of Maine at Farmington, and The University of Maine at Orono. Natalie has been accepted at Unity College, Maine Maritime, and UMaine – Orono.  No matter where these young scholars end up, the bond between these sisters will continue to be strong. College degrees will be life changing for the Webster twins! They have become some of the very best our small state and our small schools have to offer. 

Upward Bound at Northern Vermont University - Lyndon is a college preparatory program funded through the United States Department of Education. The program is committed to providing modest income, first in family, college bound students with the academic background, college preparatory experiences, and support to succeed in college immediately after high school. The Upward Bound program works with 75 students in 10 area high schools who are dedicated to achieving their post-secondary dreams.  

Natalie (in flowered dress) and Adriana Webster (in black).