Upward Bound/Talent Search names new director
Kimberly Andrews, formerly assistant director and program coordinator of the University of Texas at Austin's UT Outreach-Houston program, is the new director of Virginia Tech's Talent Search and Upward Bound programs starting June 1.
Andrews succeeds Tom Wilson, who has retired after a 30-year Virginia Tech career helping middle- and high-school students focus on college.
Since 2009, Andrews has overseen the UT Outreach-Houston program, a partnership between the university and schools within the Houston Independent School District aimed at preparing students for college. Andrews facilitated program planning and implementation, was responsible for forming strategic partnerships with four Houston-area school districts, and successfully built relationships with community organizations and other stakeholders.
During Andrews' tenure, the UT Outreach-Houston program served an average of 600 students each year. Virginia Tech's Upward Bound and Talent Search programs serve approximately 800.
Andrews also has worked in Texas as program coordinator for the Lone Star College System Educational Talent Search program and as a counselor for the Houston Community College System Upward Bound program.
Andrews earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Prairie View A&M University and her master of management in public administration from the University of Phoenix. She is working on a Ph.D. in leadership studies at Our Lady of the Lake University.
"I'm excited about being a member of the Virginia Tech family as the director of Upward Bound and Talent Search, and I'm excited about the amazing people I'm going to have the privilege of working with," Andrews says. "What I am most excited about are the opportunities that are on the horizon – opportunities that are going to make a difference in the lives of the students we serve."
"I am confident that our programs will be in good hands," says Wilson, who served as director of Virginia Tech Upward Bound/Talent Search from 1999 to 2012. "I'm excited about the future growth and success of the programs with the combination of Andrews' talent and skills and the continuing efforts of the existing Upward Bound and Talent Search leadership and staff."
Upward Bound/Talent Search at Virginia Tech are federally funded educational opportunity programs that encourage potential first-generation college students to graduate from high school and attend college. They are administered jointly as part of the university’s Outreach and International Affairs. Thousands of students have benefited from services offered by the programs since Upward Bound was established at the university in 1967 and Talent Search in 1973.
