Spring is Officially Here!

BLOG POST

This month's blog was written by Tawnie D'Angelo, GEAR UP First Year College Advisor at Western Nevada College (WNC)!! You can read it here!

College and Career Fairs

March 2024

We have kicked off our College and Career Fairs this spring! These very large events are enjoyed by many students, staff, and community members. We have already held the events at Bonanza HS, PVHS, and MCHS but there are two more to go at the end of the month!

>Clark HS - Tuesday, March 26th, 9:30 - 1:00;

>Durango HS - Thursday, March 28th, 10:36-12:16.

MAD-Learn 1-Day Camps Continue!

Mar. 20 - 23

The first set of MAD-Learn Camps at our CCSD schools has been completed. Everyone involved said they were a great opportunity and experience for the students. We have three more camps this week! The camp at Mineral County HS was held today, March 20th. Later this week the camp will be held at Pahrump Valley HS on March 22nd, and then on March 23rd for the ASPIRE program! Watch for our recap on all the camps next month!

NCCEP National Conference

July 21-24

Now that NCCEP's Academy is behind us, we are looking forward to the National Conference to be held in Washington, DC! This is a large conference where you can meet GEAR UP colleagues from all across the country. NCCEP always brings in amazing keynote speakers and if you are lucky enough to be able to attend, you will get to visit a large number of vendors that can help your program with many different areas of services. Although it seems far away time-wise, it will be here before we know it! Registration is scheduled to open in May. If you are able to attend, it is highly recommended.

SSA Summer Bridge

July 16-18

We are trying something new this year for our Summer Bridge programs. NDE has contracted with the Student Success Agency (SSA) to host our program. Although typically in the past we have held these events in the high schools, this event will be held off-site and out of state! Students and some staff will be traveling to Prescott, AZ for this event! We're excited to learn more about it!

Social Media

(For all students, parents, staff and supporters)

If you have any suggestions for our social media, let Jana or Janet know! We are open to new ideas to help grow our following! Don't forget to like and follow @gearupnv on any or all of our social media platforms! You can use the icons above to access the GEAR UP accounts. We would love for you to tag us and interact whenever possible!

2024 FYE Conference

Nevada GEAR UP staff Jana Burd, Katherine Burdick, and Kinsey Minter traveled to Seattle, WA in February to attend the 43rd Annual Conference on the First Year Experience! Conference speakers and presenters covered a range of topics around supporting and working with students entering, experiencing, and completing their first year of college. Some of their favorite sessions addressed summer bridge and supporting students attending college away from home, discussed advising and meeting with students, and emphasized the impact of mindfulness and clearing up major selection misconceptions. They also highlighted the keynote speaker Dr. Brendan Kelly and closing speaker Dr. Amelia Parnell, who shared powerful messages regarding the longevity of college and student communication considerations. It was a great experience and highly recommended for anyone working with students in their first year of college!

Apply Nevada FAFSA Nights

After some rather lengthy delays and assorted other issues with the new FAFSA, Apply Nevada FAFSA Nights were back in Las Vegas. Each of our CCSD high schools were host schools for these events. This meant that the events were held at our schools but they were open to other high schools' seniors in the community. Not only did this guarantee financial aid representatives from our local colleges would be in attendance to assist students and parents in completing the FAFSA but it was also a way to grow support and advocacy for our program in the community. Although the process was not without it's problems, each of these events were deemed a success having several families attend, many of which were our GEAR UP students and their families.

Congratulations to Our Juniors on Completing the ACT!

As juniors across Nevada completed their ACT exams this spring, some of our ASPIRE students took on an extra level of studying! Nine of our ASPIRE scholars had the opportunity to complete a six-week virtual ACT Flagship Course, donated by Prep Expert, a Las Vegas company. Normally a $1,500 value, GEAR UP students were able to receive this informational and interactive resource completely free. Our Class of 2025 cohort has big goals for their future college careers and we are excited to be able to help them achieve their dreams! A huge thanks to Prep Expert for making this possible!

In addition to the ASPIRE ACT prep program, all of our schools offered boot camps as well to help students prepare for the ACT! MCHS held their camp just a few days ago. They utilized Mastery Prep to assist having had a good experience with that vendor in the past. Durango offered three days of boot camps with increasing attendance each day, topping out at 81 students. PVHS offered their camp for two days maxing out their attendance at 42 students. ACT prep is a great way to help our students be prepared for college!

ASPIRE and Nevada First Gen Network

The ASPIRE Director, Nicole Stella recently visited with staff from the Nevada First Gen Network (NFGN). About a year ago, the NFGN offered micro-grants and ASPIRE was fortunate to be one of their recipients. Not only will the program benefit from this grant but since it is state funded, these funds are also match for the ASPIRE program. The NFGN staff toured the state visiting their grant recipients recently to see them in action. Nicole and the ASPIRE program was featured in the NFGN newsletter! Great job, Nicole!

April Awareness Calendar