The USU-Eastern GEAR UP program, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs is accepting applications from high school juniors and seniors for the 2017-2018 school year.

“We are a college access program that brings the community, colleges and high schools together to help students get into college and transition successfully,” said Coordinator of Programs, Jessica Tucker. They provide low income, minority and disadvantaged first-generation students to successfully graduate from high school and prepare for college.

Currently, the program is serving 209 junior and seniors in both Carbon and Emery counties. “We offer two GEAR UP classes within Carbon High if you’re a GEAR UP student; we have Lighthouse, we only advise during the lunch hours and after school; at Pinnacle, we have two classes and after-school tutoring at Pinnacle; out in Emery we have lunch time advising and in Green River we have advising and our advisor is part of the school so she is there all the time to help students,” said Tucker. The program not only focuses on assisting students, but also includes their families by inviting them to workshops so that they may understand the post-secondary education options and other pertinent information for their student to succeed.

Nationwide, it is GEAR UP week from September 17 through September 23. “National GEAR UP week, we celebrate clear across the nation, every GEAR UP program celebrates at the same time. We are celebrating what our program offers students and the college going cultures,” stated Tucker. Each GEAR UP program advisor will host various activities at each of the student’s high school.

The GEAR UP week is a perfect opportunity for interested students to learn about the program. They can meet the advisors for their school to ask any questions they may have.  The application process is simple by downloading the application off their website. The program has had a huge success rate in assisting students with high school graduation, as well as, make plans and set goals to pursue further education afterwards. The program does not just throw the students in college, they will monitor them during their first year, if need be.

Any questions about the program may call (435) 613-5204 or visit their Facebook page.

To down load the application, CLICK HERE.