NAU GEAR UP
Success Stories

GEAR UP Site Coordinators statewide regularly share stories about how GEAR UP has made a difference in the lives of their students. Here are a few of them.

A student credits GEAR UP with keeping him in school and inspiring his brother to attend community college.

Speaking to the children in the classrooms, one student was overjoyed with GEAR UP. He told us that if it weren’t for us, and our help, he would have dropped out of school and his brother would never have gone to community college. He explained that his parents were not able to help them look into their future, nor were they able to motivate them. We encouraged him to participate in our educational trips and college visits and to join school clubs. We keep on communicating with him to maintain his motivation and he has remained in school. We helped his brother by helping him enroll in community college and fill out his financial aid forms.

A GEAR UP staff member's unwillingness to give up keeps a student in school and going strong.

One of my students was referred to an alternative program for various reasons last semester. He dropped out of school to avenge the school for their mistake. I (the site coordinator) made contact with this student on a few occasions about getting back into school and the reply was never positive. A few weeks ago the student and his mother made an unexpected visit to our office and asked if we could help him re-enroll in school. The student shared with me that he realized his mistake and that our conversations weighed heavy on him. He made the comment that we (GEAR UP) never gave up on him while everybody else did. He wanted to come in and “thank us”. He is now in the alternative program and attending regularly. He comes by the GEAR UP office and visits to let us know he’s still going strong.

GEAR UP’s absence intervention turns a struggling student into a model student.

One young man had a very difficult freshman year. The student had attendance problems and academic problems. He was well known to the Vice Principal due to his attendance problems. In fact, he was suspended at the beginning of the year. I met with him to discuss the situation. He has since become a model student. Attendance is not 100% but his grades are B or better. He has applied to ACE+ with one of his letters of recommendation coming from the Vice Principal. He is doing beautifully. We continue to meet every couple of weeks to go over his attendance and he visits at least once a week, just to say hello.

A GEAR UP-sponsored summer enrichment program impacts a student 's achievement and attitude.

One GEAR UP Junior at Coconino High School earned grades during his freshman and sophomore years that can only be described as dismal, disheartening, and discouraging. We seemed to have hit a wall; neither his GEAR UP mentor nor GEAR UP staff seemed to be able to motivate him academically.
Fortunately, the Yavapai College experience during the summer between students’ sophomore and junior years (a GEAR UP sponsored and arranged week long trip to Yavapai Community College in Prescott) seemed to trigger a change in this student’s interest in pursuing an education and earning the grades necessary to make that happen. At Yavapai, the student began to concentrate on the academic aspects of the experience and began to talk about how his life would become more interesting were he to attend college. Happily, his Junior 1st quarter grades were stellar ‘A’s in all his subjects including Chemistry and English, a complete turn-around from the two previous years.

Counseling and support provided by a GEAR UP site coordinator helps a student graduate early, in the top 10% of her class.

Heather C, a Kingman GEAR UP student since 7th grade, has persevered through many difficult situations. Divorce, blended families, and dysfunctional parents have been the obstacles she has overcome. She has cried in the GEAR UP office many times, not sure if she could continue school through all the family chaos. With encouragement and support from GEAR UP staff and mentors, Heather has focused on her academics and has excelled. She has been attending Mohave Community College to complete a nursing degree while still in high school, and, although a member of the Class of 2006, has graduated a year early. Even more impressive, she graduated among the top ten percent of the Class of 2005!

GEAR UP peer mentoring makes all the difference for three students in Mesa.

Hector A. struggled both behaviorally and academically beginning in 9th grade. As he entered his junior year, Hector was paired with a peer mentor, Adam B, a senior who was student body president and also ran track with him. Adam and Hector met regularly and GEAR UP staff quickly noticed an improvement in Hector’s grades, attitude and attendance. Toward the end of the school year, Hector informed the GEAR UP Site Coordinator that he had decided to run for student body president in the upcoming election. Adam encouraged and supported Hector in his decision to run and helped Hector write his campaign speech. During his speech, Hector spoke about the wonderfully diverse group of students at Westwood and his dedication to making Westwood the best school ever. Hector won the election and looks forward to his presidency! Both Hector and Adam are thrilled with their success.

Ricky C.'s poor attendance in his sophomore year was affecting his grades. Enter fellow GEAR UP student, Josh B., who now serves as a mentor for Ricky. What a change! This year, Ricky is working towards perfect attendance and has A’s in all his classes. He has encouraged Ricky to take more rigorous classes; Josh even went with Ricky to talk to his counselor about moving to Spanish III because he felt Spanish II was too easy for him. This fall, Josh personally walked Ricky over to sign up for the PSAT. They spend many hours together working towards Ricky’s goals. Whenever he improves a grade or does well on a test, both mentor and mentee go to the GEAR UP Room with much enthusiasm to report their success!

Eli J., a Westwood senior, is mentoring GEAR UP student, Lorenzo S. The young men had never met in the high school of almost 3,000 students. In the first few months of their relationship, Eli has supplied Lorenzo with study skills and tips and tools to help him get organized. He sends Lorenzo notes to encourage him on a weekly basis and has even helped him find a job. Lorenzo’s attendance has dramatically improved since last year. Lorenzo recently asked the GEAR UP staff if he could give Eli an award for being the “Best Mentor”. Through the GEAR UP Peer Mentoring Program, both Eli and Lorenzo are winners.