It's Time to GEAR UP!

This is what I titled my Facebook photo album - I found it fitting because although we all have been through the GEAR UP program, we really aren't done with this program (as you all know)!  GEAR UP has impacted our lives for the better, and I am so thankful for all that it has provided me - from academic information to GUALA.  So let's GEAR UP for the great year to come!!

I'm sitting at Washington National Airport now, and there are only two of us left in DC at the end of this phenomenal week, and I'm so thankful for this experience, and for meeting each alumni leader.  I know that we will all do amazing things for our society.  It has been less than a full day since we were all together, and I already miss everything and everyone!

Finally, I'll share some highlights from the last 24 hours.

Katie can't get enough of the ice cream at Jason's Deli!

President Obama! #thisistherealthing

The wonderful Timenee Thomas, singing her beautiful rendition of "The Wind Beneath My Wings"

Alma, Maria and I met up with Maria's friend Balde and toured the city by bike! The memorials look stunning at night.

The Captiol is great, too!

Stephani, Alma, Khanha, Brooke and I spent our last hours in DC touring museums like the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History!

Again, to all the other GUALA Leaders: you are all awesome, and I am so glad I got to meet you.  I hope we stay in touch and I look forward to hearing from you throughout the year!

To Judy: Thank you so so so so so so so much for everything.  You are such a passionate, kind, driven, and all around amazing individual.  This week has been so amazing thanks to you.  And thank you to NCCEP for helping to pull this whole experience together!

So let's GEAR UP!

- Cody

This isn't good bye

As I got off my flight, I felt incomplete. I felt incomplete because 29 other pieces of me were missing. 29 other unique individuals who had motivated me to continue to inspire greatness within these communities that are losing hope. This one monumental week was one of my most memorable weeks within my whole life. I wish I had one extra day just to spend with every one. Truth is, I wasn't done learning from these 29 Gear Up Alumni Leaders. I will always look back on this week of June 22, 2013 through June 29, 2013. We laughed, we cried, and I thank each and every one of you, especially Judy Martinez who saw such inspiring talent instilled within us, not only Judy, but the whole department of Education and NCCEP as well.


    -Thank you everybody,
     -Love and Happiness
      -MEKAL SMITH

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

Reach for the Sky

In the picture above, Cody, Josue, Julius, and I are admiring the height of a rocket in the Air and Space Museum, which we visited during some free time this afternoon.  The picture seems to represent an important theme from our week with GUALA in Washington DC. 

All of us have, at one point or another, reached heights we may have never believed possible.  For some, it was mastering a new yoga position, and for others it was speaking with members of Congress.  For many of us, the simple act of telling our GEAR UP story to others and creating everlasting bonds with each other has been life-changing.

Regardless of what the highlight of our week was, we will all continue to achieve new heights as we return to our home GEAR UP programs and spend a year working with Judy and the GUALA program.  From this point forward, we will be the rocket ship that aims for the sky to achieve heights some never believed possible. 

I am fortunate to be part of such an amazing group, and look forward to continue learning and growing with my fellow GUALA rockstars!!

Day 5

Good evening!

Well, what can I say? I am just so thankful to be here! I have had such an amazing experience here in D.C! Today, we went to the White House, The Department of Education, The National Museum of Native American History, and we got to eat some yummy pizza at We, The Pizza! I never thought in my life time I would in D.C much less in all these important buildings with such powerful people.

Today @GUALA has taught me that I can do anything I want in my life! If I set my mind, I can achieve! Thank you!!!

We were able to meet with some members of the Obama administration. They spoke to us, reminding us that he does care about Education. His staff was very friendly and kind.

We had lunch with all the amazing people that work for GEAR UP at the Department of Education. I was able to advocate for my State. We had a round table discussion over what we need to improve and what has been working in each one of our States.

We had the amazing privileged of getting to go to the Native American Museum. We took a highlight tour of the museum. There we were able to see how much history and culture there is within this amazing community.

We, The pizza was my favorite part. No, it was not just for the food. We got to meet some pretty amazing young individuals that worked in the White House. We got to speak to them over dinner and they mentored us. They gave us advise on what to do if we were interested in interning.

Once again, I want to thank GEAR UP and NCCEP for allowing me to have this amazing opportunity! I know once I get back to my home state I will be making a huge difference within my GEAR UP community. I know I will be better leader thanks to their amazing workshops!

Sincerely,

Stephani Ruiz
Nevada State GEAR UP

Today was an amazing experience. I had never spoken to a legislator before, and did not really know what to expect.  I kept hearing that the legislators truly wanted to hear our stories, but I always thought that we were not necessarily on top of their priorities. However, today after meeting with the staff of both senator Mark Kirk, and Dick Durbin my mind completely changed.  These people were very interested in knowing the other side of GEAR UP that is not numbers.  They were sincerely listening to our success stories and the success stories of other GEAR UP students. Today I learned that our story is powerful, and that if enough people hear it changes can be made.

If you can think it, you can do it.

This is a tad late, but here are my thoughts on how GUALA training went on Tuesday!  My excuse for not posting this yesterday has to be because of my watching YouTube videos in the hallway with my peers (and Judy!)...I prioritized this well :)

The workshops on Tuesday were held at the Catholic Univeristy of America (CUA).  All I can say is wow, what an amazing university.  Literally every building on this campus so neat, from the architecture to the upkeep.  Of course, I didn't think to take any pictures!  The campus was so tidy, quiet, and very open.  They were in for quite the treat with our crowd!

The morning workshop was spent learning how to structure our stories to make them accessible to the audience we were speaking to, with emotion - not to force out tears! - but to allow the audience to connect with us.  We learned through using postcards made from foster care "alumni" discussing their feelings/emotions about their lives through and after foster care - we built a story around this one postcard.  It was quite surprising at how quickly the GUALA members could come up with a story off of a postcard!  We're just that good.

The second half of the day, Adrianna and Sebastian discussed building community capacity through social movements.  It was a bit difficult to see the connection between GEAR UP and building community at first, but by the end of the session, it made much more sense.   That's exactly what NCCEP is - a social movement!  And its so important that we get as many people as we can on board with GEAR UP, and spreading the word!  Sebastian built on this through discussing the movement around the Dream Act and the Justice for Students in America group.  The thing that I really identified with was when Sebastian said: "If you can think it, you can do it."  That's completely true.  As long as you have the drive, and motivation personally, then nearly anything is possible!

The Nats vs. Diamondbacks game was a fun experience - although I'm not that into sports, it was a good time to just meet with other GUALA members! 

At the game!

This whole experience has been truly phenomenal.  The people I've met are beyond awesome, every one of them.  Their stories are amazing.  I'm so excited for what the rest of the week has in store for us!

- Cody