CHARLESTON, W.Va. — High school seniors from 10 southern West Virginia counties got the chance to get excited about their future on Tuesday morning.
West Virginia GEAR UP through the WV Higher Education Policy Commission held its annual Student Leadership Academy at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in Charleston.
GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs and is a federal Department of Education grant program that is $21 million for seven years.
“It’s an opportunity to kick off the year right, get the school year started and get them excited,” JR Luyster, Assistant Director for GEAR UP said of the academy.
“We want to really remind them of our goals and mission and how we can help them.”
The goals and services of GEAR UP revolve around post-secondary education opportunities. Luyster said there are college visit opportunities, job site visit opportunities, college counseling, financial aid counseling, mentoring services, and SAT/ACT test prep available for the 1,300 students in attendance on Tuesday.
Luyster said the program has been working with the group of students at the Clay Center for six years since they were in seventh grade.
22 schools were represented through 10 counties including Boone, Fayette, Mason, Mercer, Mingo, Nicholas, Summers, Webster, Wirt and Wyoming.
“It’s always a wonderful vibe, a wonderful opportunity to interact with them when they are excited about their futures,” Luyster said of the event. “We are excited to help them figure out what steps they need to be taking now to plan and prepare to be successful in those future endeavors.”
West Virginia State University’s President Anthony Jenkins awarded ten $1,000 scholarships to a GEAR UP student from each of the GEAR UP counties. Clint Pulver, an author, musician, workforce expert, and motivational speaker served as the keynote speaker.