E Pluribus Unum

From the moment of arrival, D.C. gives you an overwhelming feeling of pride. It reminds you how far our nation has come, and how regardless of our different beliefs, we continue to grow together. On our fourth day at the Capitol, as we are finishing a short film on the history of the Capitol building, and before taking the official tour, the Supreme Court makes history once again by ruling DOMA and Prop 8 unconstitutional. The next day, the Senate passed immigration reform. As we walked all over capitol hill this week, history was being made all around us. This only made me more grateful for the many opportunities that GEAR UP has given me. It gave me more confidence when sharing my GEAR UP story with our legislators and it encouraged me to continue learning and sharing that knowledge with others, because as is encrypted on our nation's seal, "Out of many, ONE." That is what this amazing group of GEAR UP alumni represents, ONE big success story from many corners of the United States.

The GEAR UP representatives from California on our way to our Congressional visits.

I was very happy to see the diversity in the group of communities that GEAR UP brings together under one mission. We all have different stories, but we can all relate to the fact that GEAR UP allowed us to dream big and provided the tools necessary to turn those dreams into reality.

Tour of Washington D.C. with the first GUALA class.

This week of Leadership and Advocacy training has been such a rewarding experience, where we got the opportunity to listen to great presenters, learned from successful people who share similar stories and shared our stories with individuals who have the power to keep and expand programs like GEAR UP. Whether it was a tour of our nation's most inspiring monuments, a lecture of strategic sharing and mentoring, or a fun yoga class, we learned valuable lessons about the huge impact that GEAR UP has in education in hard-to-reach communities. None of this would have been possible without the hard work from all the people at NCCEP. Thank you Judy. Thank you Nathan. And thank you all who made this possible. I will be returning to California and continue sharing our story and giving a hand to those who need it to reach their dreams.

Judy Martinez. GUALA Manager

Nathan Monell. NCCEP CEO