College Life

Hello Everyone,

If there’s one thing I’ve realized after settling into the college life at North Carolina State University, it is that college is very different from high school. My weekly schedule consists of classes starting as early as 7:40am in the morning and others as late as 6:00pm in the evening, instead of the usual 8:00am to 3:30pm high school schedule. Instructors do not assign homework daily, but instead expect their students to study outside of class on their own time. Perhaps the most apparent difference between college and high school is in the student population. NC State University has a population of approximately 34,000 students, way more than Seventy-First High School. Despite experiencing these differences in environments for the first time, I was not shocked or intimidated when the fall semester began. I have the Fayetteville State University GEAR UP Program to thank for that!

Back when I was still in high school, the FSU GEAR UP Program arranged multiple workshops designated to informing students on college life and how to prepare for the changes between high school and college. Essentially, those workshops gave me a “heads up” on what to expect from my college experience as a freshman and how to make the most out of my experience. Another way GEAR UP prepared me for college was how all GEAR UP faculty members were always open to discuss issues concerning college. I distinctly remember Mr. Michelle, one of the faculty members and GEAR UP coaches, telling me about the huge student population difference between high school and college and how to handle it. The solution he gave me, which ended up working, was to make new friends constantly. He said that “The humongous college world will seem smaller when you can recognize faces.” By following his advice, the student population was no problem for me and I now have plenty of awesome friends that I hang out with all the time. 

                   GEAR UP helped me develop in many different way, one of which being my transition from a high school student to a college student. The informative GEAR UP workshops and caring faculty are what makes the FSU GEAR UP Program in North Carolina great! As a GUALA GEAR UP Alumni Leader, I hope to express my gratitude by giving back to the GEAR UP community during my year of service. (#GEARUPWORKS) :)

Best of wishes,

Julius Nani

A Little of Daisy

Hey everyone! I hope I am doing this right! Well, my name is Daisy Valentina Perez. I was raised in Presidio, Texas, a small town bordering Mexico. When I was in high school, I really did not think about going to college. No one in my family had gone to college and I really did not want to go either. Who wants to go to school for four more years of their lives right? I thought that I'd just get a job somewhere and then find  a place to live. However, I decided to go to college and try something different. Deep down I knew that I did not want to stay living in Presidio my whole life.
College has been an amazing experience for me. I have done things and met people that I would have never done otherwise. I got the chance to work with the new kids in the new GEAR UP Program and have learned so much from them. I guess that's all for now because I am not sure if this is going to post right!

Department Of Education Roundtable Discussion

Hello Everybody,

Last week Hector and I attended a roundtable discussion with Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education for the Department of Education.  I wanted to use this platform to inform everybody about  the content of the discussion as well as some potential concerns that we can all take back to our communities.  The theme of the discussion centered around both the successes and the struggles that individuals were experiencing within education programs across the United States.  These programs are vast in differences ranging from scholarship programs (such as GEAR UP) to education curriculums in community colleges (such as nursing programs).  For example, some curriculums have extraordinary success and graduation rates, whilst others drastically fail.  Thus, this "open bus tour" gave the Department of Education a chance to attempt cohesion between states' programs and future successes.  The phrase "don't reinvent the wheel" carries precedent here because the successes of programs across the United States are often transparent when applied to similar programs in different States.  Unification of these messages will hopefully skirt some of the disparities between States' education programs.

Gear Up has had extraordinary success.  It is our job to send the message to others to signalize these successes.  Some of the concerns expressed were:  rising cost of textbooks, tuition increase, loan repayment programs, loan interest increase, and falsification of likely outcomes of certain degrees and specialties.  In addition, stark comments were mentioned about the dwindling job market and how that impacted education.  This segment sparked my interest because it gave us the chance (as an individual) to express our personal concerns and reflect from our own experiences.  Here I raise the question to you all, what are your biggest barriers in your communities regarding education?  How can education be more efficient where you live?  What can we, as GUALA Alumni, do for our communities that will help create better education programs?

Lastly, when is our all expense paid Reunion?......just a thought....

GEAR UP WEEK!

Good Morning Leaders!!

I am currently at work in one of the public high schools in Bridgeport and I am planning for gear up week with my staff here in the gear up resource room!

I want to use the NCCEP Planning Documents to highlight some of our thoughts and events that we are currently working on. While this will be one of my shorter blogs, I really wanted to update you guys and also hear about what's been going on with you all for the exciting upcoming week!

Planning Questions

[Details subject to change]

1. What is our big, awesome, exciting main event for 2013 National GEARUP Week?

- Well, we are planning to host three different assemblies at Central High School, Harding High School, and Bassick High School in Bridgeport, CT since we are following the cohort of 2017 (our current freshman class). They are all new to the three high schools and this is our chance to really have gear up be apart of their high school experience.

2. What are our TOP THREE GOALS for the event?

- 1. To bring awareness to the entire class of 2017 regarding gear up and what gear up has to offer as resources.
- 2. To make connections with various school personnel and be able to build healthy, positive relationships to work effectively with throughout the next four years.
- 3. To allow the new gear up advisors to introduce themselves and start building rapport with the students to later lead into effective mentoring and advising.

3. How will we make our National GEARUP Week event happen? What are KEY MILESTONES or TASKS?

- We will be utilizing the auditoriums in each school and allow the following agenda to take place:

• Introduction power point and music of all the advisors and gear up program itself.
• Principals speak/Magnet administration (for Central)/mayor speak.
• Show video clip 1 on our seniors (who are mentors to the freshmen) speaking about their past experience with gear up. 
• Show video clip 2 on our seniors giving "Freshmen Survival Tips" and "MythBusters" in each school.
• Have our partners in the school as well as Yale speak about their relationship with gear up and what they have to offer as well. 
• Entertainment: Spoken Word Poet (Theme of content: Succes).
• Entertainment: Hip hop dancer.

4. Who are we inviting/encouraging/joining to participate?

- School administrations, class of 2017, yale representatives, etc. We would have loved for parents to be apart of this but since it will be during school hours, it's difficult to invite them. There will be another chance to speak with parents through other events.

5. What is our priority MEDIA outreach list? 

- We are currently trying to get a local news channel to come into our school during those days.

6. How else are we going to publicize our event?

- Hmm, I believe it will be in our monthly newsletter that gets distributed in the schools, in bridgeport news, and in yale news.

7. How will we document our event?

- Pictures will be taken and shared! Also, the local media will hopefully cover some of it!

Happy Planning Everyone!!! 

- Maysoun (Connecticut)

GUALA at The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics Back-To-School Texas Tour

On September 4, 2013, I had the opportunity to attend a town hall on Hispanic college access and completion that was organized by the The University of Texas-Pan American along with The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (WHIEEH). WHIEEH is an initiative that engages Hispanic students, families, and community to improve education for Hispanics. This town hall was to talk about concerns that the Rio Grande Valley community had and also to highlight the efforts that have made progress in my area.

Attending this town hall was beneficial because there were so many people to network with. People that are doing the exact same thing that the GEAR UP Alumni Leadership Academy (GUALA) is trying to do for education. As a first-generation Hispanic college student this was the perfect event for me to learn about what is being done for students like me within my community and around the country. My education and the quality of it is very important to me and I am blessed to have the opportunity to attend this event but most importantly for being part of GUALA!

Keep inspiring y'all,
Maria

To learn more about The GEAR UP Alumni Leadership Academy click here.
To learn more about The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics click here.

Post D.C. Experience!

Hey Everyone! 

After our awesome time in Washington D.C., I spent the next month being super busy with two pretty great summer programs that the Yale-Bridgeport Gear UP Partnership here in Connecticut worked hard to put together for our Gear UP members!

The first one included our 8th graders (rising 9th graders) at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, CT. This program was a 5-week long program that allowed all 8th graders from every middle school in Bridgeport to be apart of. These students would show up for breakfast, have a math and an english course to take and then take part in a MAAX (Maximizing Academic Achievement and eXcellence) course in which the gear up advisors would facilitate. This course taught life skills, ways to cope with certain academic and social issues people face, time management, and many other important and helpful tools. Then, towards the end of the day, the students had enrichment and team building activities to choose from. The purpose of this schedule was not only to get them a head start on how high school math and english courses would look like, but to provide support and resources from each other as well as the gear up staff. 

Their transition from middle school to high school, as we all know, is a very vital and critical change that most students don't get to prepare for the way gear up students do! These students have received the advantage of touring their high schools, becoming familiar with their class schedules and classes, getting an understanding of the workload they will encounter, and get to meet fellow freshmen before the school year even starts. Oh, The things gear up does for higher education! 

I had the pleasure to be apart of their experience and definitely utilized many skills that I learned in Washington, D.C. to help them feel motivated and prepared for high school. It was eye opening to have heard responses back from speaking with many students and asking them about their future goals and whether or not they wanted to go to college. Most of these students didn't have it in their plans to attend college. Towards the end of the program, the same questions were asked and the responses changed. These students got the chance to learn the importance of college and education in general and are now looking forward to their high school years. 

The second program was very similar in format but it was planned for the 11th graders (rising 12th graders) in preparation for their transition from high school to college. This program took place at the University of Bridgeport and was a 3-week long program. I also had the pleasure of working with these students and providing the same support I did to the incoming freshmen. I will be working more closely with the seniors once the fall comes. My favorite part of this particular program had to be the 2 days training that the seniors received who signed up to be mentors to the incoming freshmen. They received training from the Mentoring Ignition Society on what a mentor is, how to effectively mentor, and were a part of team building activities that they will become professional at facilitating once the school year starts. 

It has been truly amazing to be apart of so many important transitions in students' lives and witnessing growth, intellect, and motivation expand before my eyes. -- It has become my personal motivation to continue mentoring and growing with my students. 

In the fall, I will be at Central High School helping students apply for college, applying for financial aid and scholarships, and continuing to mentor and tutor students who need it. I'm looking forward to National Gear UP Week which I will be helping plan come September. I think back to last fall when I was apart of many events that week and I'm very excited to do bigger and better things this week to honor the program, those individuals working hard to keep it going, and the students who do nothing but appreciate Gear UP and all that it does for them!

[keep shining bright leaders!]

Maysoun Chawiche

     Connecticut 

GUALA, Youth Congress, Education, and My Culture-the short version :D

"Why would anyone who is as smart as you come here [Wenatchee, Lake Chelan, and the Yakima Valley] to harvest the crops under the scorching sun and at such low wages?"

My farm worker colleagues have asked me this same question thousands of times since I was in high school. Their faces in awe as I climb my ladder to reach the bushel of cherries at the very tip top of the tree that has been assigned to me.

Here is part of my answer: I love waking up at four in the morning and watching the sunrise as cars with entire families inside, make their way to the fields ready to harvest the crops of the season. I love the adrenaline of risking a fall from 10 (sometimes even more) feet in the air. The sound of Spanish--from the chit chat of the workers, to the radio blasting everything from corridos to durangense, to the lunch ladies' shouting out what food they have for those who forgot or didn't have time to pack a lunch--it makes me feel at home, comfortable and safe.

Most importantly though, I want people to understand that scholars who have left their hometowns to attend college, often have the desire to go back to their communities and be involved in the work of their friends and family. I know I do. Just because I am considered to be "educated", doesn't mean that I am somehow disconnected from the neighborhood where I grew up.

When I am back in the Yakima Valley (as I am now), my sociology studies at Whitworth University help me understand things like how the educative Opportunity/Achievement Gap prevents kids from going into post-secondary education; how youth in my community have had their dreams to go to college crushed by others (many times by their own family members); or even why U.S politics are despised here instead of just criticized like in the rest of the nation.

All this to say that education is amazing! Education can help you calculate the best cost: benefit ratio when you are looking at working in the hops in Wapato versus picking plums in Zillah. It can be used when designing cold-air fans that keep fruit from frosting over in the winter. It's also helpful when trying to translate what a high school transcript says to a migrant parent that never went to middle school. Education is everywhere-even the agriculturally based communities.

Where did I get my education and how did I get there? 

Well...

One important facilitator has been the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP). Not only did it get me to a great institution of higher education (Let's go BUCS!-WU's mascot), but it has also provided me with the experience of the GEAR UP Alumni Leadership Academy (GUALA), which surpassed all of my expectations of what an education advocacy, policy, and leadership training could look like.

Not to mention, that GEAR UP also helped me participate in the Youth Congress in San Francisco this past July where I had the honor of working with fabulous groups of kids from all over the nation, to become strong leaders (and followers), gain more courage to be themselves, and use education to break free from the issues that sometimes infest low-income, high diversity populations (drugs, violence, ignorance, etc).

I am blessed with opportunities that have allowed me to grow so much thus far, but I can't help but wonder what great things my friends could be doing too had someone invested in their potential, such as some of my mentors have in mine.

In summary, I wish that more people could value education and the returning of those who are seen as scholarly and/or successful. We are all responsible for the improvement of our communities and for the increase in our self-confidence to make a difference. Sometimes it seems like school is unnecessary, a waste of time, or "dumb" (ironically), but I would challenge anyone to find anything in their lives that did not involve education.

Truthfully,
#GEARUPworks  #lovemyGUALAmates  #iloveed  #nerdforlife #amoamigente #sisepuede

**A special thanks to the following organizations for believing in me and guiding me to a life full of everyday learning: as previously mentioned, GEAR UP and all of its resources/support for learning, exploring, and pursuing post secondary education; The Toppenish School District and all of its staff, faculty, and students (past, present, and future);  and Seattle Biomedical Research Institute for fostering the idea that education is the key to making dreams a reality-even seemingly impossible global health ones.

Thanks for reading, and "talk to you soon" because this girl continues to learn!

Sincerely,
Alma Irene Aguilar