Four years ago, high school senior Aaron O’Brien wouldn’t believe he’d be studying chemistry now. Thanks to the Upward Bound program, that’s not hard to believe anymore.

“Before I came into the program, whew I don’t know who that man was,” O’Brien said.

Through free tutoring, test prep and college visits weekly, Upward Bound has helped millions of students like O’Brien, who attends McKinley Tech High School, pursue higher education.

The program is coordinated by colleges like George Washington University.

“The program has really expanded my vision for the future,” O’Brien said.

He joined Upward Bound as a freshman in high school.

“I never imagined I would be in these spaces and be able to network with so many different people,” he said.

“Upward Bound is basically a family,” said Layla Leiva, a senior at DC International School.

“A lot of us are first generation or low income. My parents do not know what the common app is, or standardized testing, and being able to have students that I can relate to meant the world for me,” she said.

Upward Bound falls under a series of federal TRIO programs funded by the Department of Education. Several programs in the series help veterans, students with disabilities, limited English and those facing foster care and homelessness.

Amid the Trump administration’s overhaul of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.), however, TRIO program funding was slashed because words related to the inclusionary policies were mentioned in its grant applications.

Last fall, a group that advocates for TRIO sued the Department for over $40 million in slashed grants.

Last June, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified at a Senate budget hearing, saying that TRIO didn’t give her apartment enough oversight.

“I just think that we aren’t able to see the effectiveness across the board that we would normally look to see with our federal spending,” McMahon said at the hearing.

When funding froze, George Washington University paused most of its programing and cut nearly all its staff.

“It was a staff of just me, I was still working with my seniors,” said George Washington’s Upward Bound director, Darrell Thornton.

After growing up in a similar program, Thornton says he wanted to give back.

“I knew I wanted to be that educator that made a difference,” he said.

Earlier this year, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s cuts, restoring funding for the program.

“It kind of felt like I was cut off from my family for a little bit. When we got back, it was like thank God,” Kevin Williams, a junior at Ron Brown Preparatory College High School said.

The university was also able to bring its staff back.

“I’m so relieved to find out this program finally has funding and that this program will continue to support students in the way that it did for me,” Leiva said.

News4 reached out to the Department of Education, but have not heard back.