Students across the Southern Tier are setting personal goals with an incentive.

B.U.S. Bucks, along with Binghamton University's Promise Zone Community Schools, is helping students with academic issues pursue a better future. The program works with students to identify what they would like to earn in return for their efforts in the classroom.

Students from Whitney Point received a certificate and gift cards for completing the program.

"I've seen kids who might have been more aggressive and have been a little bit closed in and isolated, and they've brought themselves to be more open and friendlier and connect with people," said Mackenzie St. John, a youth mentor.