Nearly 100 Upper Cumberland middle school students enjoyed a free three-day educational summer camp experience thanks to GEAR UP at Tennessee Tech University.
GEAR UP, an acronym for “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs,” is a federally funded initiative aimed at increasing college and career readiness among students from underserved communities, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.
At Tech, GEAR UP serves students from Clay, Overton, Scott and Warren counties, where only 13% of adults hold college degrees.
According to Frank Tittle, executive director of Tech’s GEAR UP program, the university’s efforts will focus on reaching students in these communities beginning in the sixth grade and offering support, mentorship and other resources so that students stay on track and are able to pursue higher education. The summer camp, slated to become an annual event, is part of that broader mission.
“Our goal at the end of the day is to get them into some kind of post-secondary opportunity,” explained Tittle.
During the day, students took part in hands-on learning activities and teamwork challenges facilitated by CoolSpeak, a leading youth engagement company.
“The programming really centered around empowering them to be leaders and using the skills you have to be a leader in school, at home and in all areas of life,” Tittle explained.
In one group activity, students traversed around a make-believe volcano on the floor of the university’s Millard Oakley STEM Center, working in groups and using small tiles to safely cross from one end of the building to the other. In a separate keynote session, students learned about the importance of purpose. Group discussions afterward challenged participants to think about setbacks they had encountered and how to use that as motivation for positive outcomes in the future.
“The students really shared with each other. For them to be able to talk about those kinds of feelings and emotions was powerful.” said Tittle.
Learn more about GEAR UP at Tennessee Tech at https://www.tntech.edu/education/gearup.