CARSON CITY, Nev. –A contingent of high school students from across Nevada will be at the Nevada Legislature on Tuesday to celebrate GEAR UP - the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program Grant - that is a federally funded, seven-year grant that serves underrepresented students. The Legislature has declared May 7th “GEAR UP Day” to honor and recognize the many Nevadans who have organized and benefitted from the program.

“This is such an important program that includes comprehensive mentoring, academic and career counseling, financial aid advising, college and job site visits, job shadowing, summer programs, field trips, college readiness workshops, tutoring, and family engagement,” said Jhone Ebert, Superintendent of Public Instruction. “I’m proud of the effort of Tammy Bolen, our state director for Nevada GEAR UP.”

Bolen will join legislative supporters and other GEAR UP staff to accompany students from around our state to the Nevada Legislature on Tuesday to meet with state lawmakers. Bolen has worked closely with State Senator Yvanna Cancela, Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall, and Nevada System of Higher Education Vice Chancellor Nate Mackinnon. GEAR UP Assistant State Director Lori Botelho and NSHE GEAR UP Ambassador Coordinator Daniel Villanueva have also played a key role in organizing participation from each NSHE institution and 20 schools throughout the state. There will be two opportunities for students to ask questions of elected officials about this year’s legislative agenda, beginning at 1:35 p.m. in the Senate Hearing Room, 1214.

In addition to actively supporting the college-going culture in our state, the success of GEAR UP is shown in the numbers: During fiscal year 2018, Nevada GEAR UP provided 114,408 hours of service including 24,701 hours for academic and career advising, 8,193 hours for tutoring, and 1,652 mentoring hours to the over 4,000 students statewide.