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College never crossed Michael Lopez's mind because in his Mexican-American family, the focus was on work, not furthering his education. "I wouldn't be where I am today without the Upward Bound program," said Lopez, 33, director of minority recruitment for Grand Valley State University. "It gave me the study skills and positive motivation necessary to make a college education truly attainable." Lopez credits the federally funded Upward Bound college preparation program at Hope College, which he attended while at Hamilton High School, for igniting in him a strong desire to pursue college and rise above poverty. He persisted seven years to earn his bachelor's degree, balancing his studies with a full-time job. Lopez and other local alumni say they will fight President Bush's proposal to shut down the program, credited for helping bright students from low-income families graduate from high school and go on to college since 1964. The budget plan would eliminate funding for 48 programs, including Upward Bound and Talent Search. "This doesn't make sense," Lopez said. "We live in a nation where the number of minority graduates lags behind graduation rates of other groups. Everybody knows there's a strong correlation between education and socio-economic status. Cutting Upward Bound would only widen the gap." Lopez and other alumni of three area Upward Bound programs are writing Congressmen Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, and Vern Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, urging that it be preserved for high school students from poor families. Most of the young adults enrolled in the local Upward Bound programs -- run by GVSU, Grand Rapids Community College and Hope College -- are minority students from low-income homes. Eliminating the state's 30 Upward Bound programs would be a sharp blow, said Arnie Smith-Alexander, who directs two Upward Bound programs and Talent Search for GVSU. Most programs are in economically depressed areas and provide disadvantaged teens with academic skills, college counseling and dreams of a career. Without such support, poverty is an almost insurmountable barrier to a brighter future, Alexander said. [more]