This October, Salt Lake City, Utah, welcomed college access professionals from across the western United States for GEAR UP West. The annual meeting brought together GEAR UP programs to collaborate and share best practices in helping students prepare for postsecondary success.
Arizona GEAR UP came out in full force as our state office and school partners were present as both participants and presenters.
To kick off the concurrent sessions, Arizona GEAR UP Marketing Content Creator Hector Ponce hosted his “Media Made Easy” presentation, where he shared tips and tricks on becoming your own social media manager.
“With all the free tools and resources available online, I want to help to give people the confidence to become content creators,” Hector said.
To check out Hector’s presentation and find a list of his sources, check out our GEAR UP West presentation page.
For the afternoon sessions, Arizona GEAR UP was represented by the Buckeye Union High School District. Featuring Buckeye Union High School, Estrella Mountain High School, and Youngker High School, the BUHSD team presented “College, Career, Future Ready: Tools for Success.” GEAR UP coaches Denise El Habach, Kenjuan Lockhart, Clara Pond, Christina Taylor, and Melinda Seymour simulated how they put together events to help increase parent engagement. The interactive session shared effective strategies and tips on how to build a college-going culture within your school community.
To close out the concurrent sessions, our Senior Services Program Manager Daniel Pulu and San Luis High School’s Carmen Castaneda and Cesar Castillo showcased the Senior Launch Guide.
A staple in the AZGU Program, the guide is full of college resources, activities, lists, and information to help prepare students and families for success after graduation. The Senior Launch Guide comes in a physical form and is available for free online on our site.
This year’s GEAR UP West was the first for most of the AZGU Team and an experience that helped build stronger bonds within our team and network and learn from programs across the country.