John Kula

A former student in the TRIO Upward Bound program at Penn State University, John has directed Upward Bound at the Bloomsburg campus since September 2015.  Prior to that, he directed Upward Bound programs at California University of Pennsylvania, Eastern Gateway Community College (in Steubenville, Ohio), Penn State University, and Clarion University of Pennsylvania.  He got his start working with TRIO while in college at Clarion University (now PennWest Clarion) as a work/study student (3 1/2 years), summer Tutor/Counselor (three summers), and as a summer Resident Director (one summer) before being appointed an interim counselor and then as Director after completing his master's degree.

A strong supporter of professional associations, John served twice as Treasurer and twice as President of the Pennsylvania Association of TRIO Programs, or PA TRIO, and recently served as the President of the Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, or MEAEOPP, one of ten professional association nationwide representing TRIO educators from all TRIO programs throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  He also served on the Board of Directors for the Council for Opportunity in Education, TRIO's national association.  In 1999 he was recognized as a MEAEOPP TRIO Achiever and has received the Outstanding Service Award from PA TRIO, Pennsylvania's state TRIO association, twice.  John has also served as a grant reviewer twice for the U.S. Department of Education, reviewing Upward Bound Math/Science and Veterans Upward Bound grants, and the National Association of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), reviewing applications for grant funding for National First-Generation Week initiatives.

John loves working with Upward Bound students to help them achieve their dreams of earning a college degree.  He lives in Bloomsburg, where he is active in the congregation of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, and enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling (especially internationally) during his free time.