Local teens getting a taste of college life celebrated today with a ceremony .

44 students from Valdosta High School are finishing up the Upward Bound program, a six-week academic course designed to encourage kids to pursue college.

"This program has helped me because it provides tools that I need to go to college," said Najee Christopher, Upward Bound Student. "They provide scholarships. They provide ways to get to college, so it's really helped me to see what college is like."

"There was one point in time when my dad was a self-made business man and I figured I could be like him, but I kinda dropped my dreams for a little while, but when I got back in the program, it helped me realize how important it is to actually go to college and get my education and do something that I actually wanna do and not just follow somebody else," said Porsha Berrian, Upward Bound student.

The federally funded program, hosted at VSU, allows many of these kids to be the first in their family to go to college.