Katyanne Kinneavy

2010 - The first time that Katyanne Kinneavy heard about Upward Bound was sitting in her Freshman Earth Sciences Class at Somersworth High School. She was given a little pink slip of paper that read, You are invited to attend an informational slide show about UNH Upward Bound. “Little did I know,” writes Katyanne, “that that pink slip of paper would open up hundreds of doors, full of opportunities.”

Growing up in Somersworth, New Hampshire, opportunities were not plentiful for Katyanne. She is the daughter of two loving working class parents and the youngest of four children. She had an early interest in attending college, but characterized herself as “ an average student with average grades and less than average drive and motivation.” She writes, “I was lost, knowing where I wanted to be but unsure of how to get there. Until I stepped foot in Sawyer Hall the summer of 2001, my first summer of Upward Bound.”

Upward Bound provided Karyanne with the "how" she was looking for. She learned the skills of a productive student, and found the drive that she had been lacking. She continues, “with those skills and the support system provided by the staff and students of, UB I was able to pursue my bachelors of science in nursing I was so hopeful to achieve.” Katyanne balanced four years of rigorous nursing course work with a work study job. With her newfound confidence, she also took on leadership positions, including planning and leading many alternative spring break trips . She spent three spring breaks volunteering with the less fortunate in Washington, D.C.

Now, as a 2008 graduate of Saint Joesph's College of Maine, Katyanne works in an Emergency Department at Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire. Still full of the drive she learned years ago from her fellow UB participants and stuff members, she hopes to continue her education and earn her Master of Science in Nursing, with the goal of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner.