Miriam Alfaro Ortez (left) and Arielle Derival (right) with GEAR UP students from East Boston High School.

大学入学和学生成功

帮助学生走向成功

GEAR UP计划为第一代和低收入家庭的学生提供急需的支持

由于可以获得导师、实习机会和其他资源，中上层家庭的学生在准备接受高等教育和进入职场时通常会占据优势。On the other hand, many first-generation and low-income students lack access to these benefits and find themselves struggling to keep up in both college and the workforce. Programs like Boston GEAR UP, administered by BU Wheelock’s College Access & Student Success (CASS), work to remedy these inequities.

Directed by Arielle Derival, Boston’s GEAR UP provides comprehensive support like tutoring, life skills classes, and college tours to middle and high school students. 该项目在两所公立学校——马里奥·乌马纳学院K-8和东波士顿高中——的7至12年级学生中开展。数百名学生参加了这些项目：有635名高中生和265名中学生。

In Boston, Miriam Alfaro Ortez and Richarldine Lubin serve as advisors for East Boston High School students, and Maria Paredes is the advisor for Mario Umana Academy. They take students to colleges, educational fairs, and other events that spark their interest in higher education. 他们还鼓励学生充分利用该项目提供的内容，以及学校和社区提供的其他形式的支持。

Struggling students can work with GEAR UP staff to improve their attendance records and get tutoring for challenging subjects. 当学生们为大学和工作世界做准备的时候，GEAR UP帮助学生准备强有力的申请，这将给招生官员留下深刻的印象。Students also have the opportunity to attend workshops and summer boot camps to give them the knowledge they need to perform successfully in college and the workforce.

For many of these students, this is the first time they have been able to envision themselves as college graduates. “我们的一些学生在加入GEAR UP之前从未踏入过大学校园，”德里瓦尔说。

一个多元化的学生群体

The Boston GEAR UP program is part of a national network that serves 560,000 students in 45 states. In Massachusetts alone, GEAR UP serves 6,300 middle and high school students in, as well as first-year college students. While GEAR UP is open to any of the partner schools’ students without regard for race, ethnicity, immigration status, or financial status, the Boston program serves participants who are predominantly low-income Latinx students and typically first-generation college students. 

联邦资金确保低收入家庭的学生能够获得的支持之前他们进入高等教育。“所有学生提供的服务是免费的,”鲁宾说。

GEAR UP的主管和顾问们有能力支持来自不同种族、文化和学术背景的学生群体：德里瓦尔是来自低收入家庭的第一代黑人大学毕业生，阿尔法罗·奥尔蒂斯是波士顿公立学校表现最好的学生，帕雷德斯是从墨西哥移民到大学的，卢宾从一所社区大学转到了一所四年制大学，目前正在波士顿会德洛克大学攻读硕士学位。

“If I had these resources when I was in high school, my college journey would be completely different,” says Lubin.

学术界及其他领域

GEAR UP’s programming isn’t limited to academics—tutors and advisors guide students to learn life skills they’ll need after they finish their education, too. 例如，学生们玩一个名为“宣称你的未来”的游戏，在这个游戏中，他们学习如何驾驭成人生活的各个方面，包括预算、与银行和汽车经销商合作以及寻找住房。

“It’s great to meet the students during their freshman or sophomore years and follow them to graduation,” says Alfaro Ortez.

The numbers reflect students’ growing interest in higher education opportunities after participating in the program. In the 2022–23 school year, about 94% of Boston GEAR UP seniors completed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or FAFSA Awareness form, an essential step to receiving federal financial aid for college. 

And the program’s benefits don’t end after high school. 在大学或职业学校的第一年，学生们继续从他们的导师那里得到支持和建议。GEAR UP还为那些经济援助计划无法支付全部学费的学生提供奖学金。

For the GEAR UP staff, the students’ success is its own reward. “The relationships that are built with students, families, and teachers are what makes the program valuable,” says Paredes. “They motivate me to do this work.”