A group of 33 high school students from Helena, Butte and Anaconda recently spent a weekend touring colleges in Idaho.

Willie Anderson is a junior at Capital High School and was happy to visit the campuses of Boise State University, College of Idaho and Idaho State University.

Anderson, 15, aspires to be a welder/machinist and is now considering more than one college after he completes high school.

Michael Rillahan, 16, got involved in Talent Search this year because he heard his friends were enjoying it. Because of his involvement, he is finding out about scholarships he was unaware of.

Rillahan is considering two of the schools the group visited because the towns offered lots of activities for young people while still being close to the outdoors.

The trip was part of the Upward Bound and Talent Search programs. Upward Bound is a federally funded program that provides the skills, knowledge and motivation necessary for students to gain admission to and achieve success in postsecondary education. The target audience is low-income high school students who will be the first generation in their family to attend college. The program consists of weekly after-school meetings, Saturday academics, and a six-week summer program.

Talent Search is a college program designed to disseminate information to a large population of students in sixth through 12th grades. The programs currently involve 400 students in the five area middle school and high schools.

The biggest difference between the two programs is the number of students served (Upward Bound serves 34 students) and the frequency of the meetings. Both programs offer college experience trips and Talent Search offers workshops along with college day-trips.

Troy Merriman, 16, decided if he really wanted to go to college, Talent Search was good way to get there.

“(Going to college) has always been a personal goal — none of my family has gone so far,” Merriman said.

This isn’t the first trip Sharlene Bush, 16, took with Talent Search, although now she’s involved in Upward Bound.

“I’m starting to think about college now and I thought it would be good to see my options,” Bush said.

Bush said the programs encouragd her to try to get good grades and directed her to potential scholarships.

“It has taught me a lot and now I’m a lot more prepared for college,” she said.

Alana Listoe: 447-4081 or alana.listoe@helenair.com