Prosser at Seattle for College Tours

As we approach the 2016-17 school year, we end the summer of 2016 with the Seattle College Tour. GEAR UP staff and a parent volunteer, took 20 students to the Seattle/Bellevue area, to visit a variety of colleges and universities. They left August 9th, and started their tours on August 10th with their first stop at Highline Community College.

At Highline Community College, students were taught the benefits of attending a community college, rather than going straight into a university. Students were able to visit the technology program offered there. The group was able to interact with professors from each department, and were given information of each program. Some students were not aware that they don’t need SAT scores to enroll in a community college, which was a surprise to some.  The second stop was Seattle University. Here students learned the difference between a public/private schools, and got a glimpse of the school. Seattle U is a catholic private school that offers programs including Nursing, Engineering, and Law & Justice. Students were reminded if they get good grades in High school, and score high on their SAT, they could possibly receive a full ride scholarship to Seattle U!

On the second day, students had the chance to tour Seattle Pacific University and Lake Washington Institute of Technology. Students were given a tour of each school, and information of the programs they have to offer. They also got the opportunity to meet some of the professors in charge of the technology, nursing, and dental programs. The students even got to witness bread making at Lake Washington! Their facility has their own bread shop in the school! Students were fascinated by the schools environment and structure.

On their final day the group was able to tour Bellevue Community College, and University of Washington. Bellevue Community College is one of the few community colleges that has more programs available for students. They also have TRIOS and a multicultural program. Some of the students were really interested in the technology department they offer. At UW, students went on a tour of the nursing program. They were able to see classroom setting and how their classrooms are different from a regular class. Students received information of the different programs offered at UW as well.

Overall, Seattle College Tour was a great experience for GEAR UP staff to interact with the students. Some students stated this was their highlight of their summer. We also had about 4-6 students tell us they want to attend one of the colleges we visited! As we start our journey with senior and juniors this upcoming school year, we are one step close to our goal, high school graduation than college bound!

Written by San Juanita Rivera

Category: Prosser GEAR UP

Published: 23 August 2016

STEM Camp for Southridge GEAR UP

It’s July and that means it’s time for STEM Camp at WSU Tri-Cities. 9 interested Southridge HS students attended 1 or both STEM (Science, Math, Engineering, Technology) camps this year: CSI Science & Robotics.

First was CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) Science camp where students learned about forensic investigation. One of the camp counselors was ‘murdered’ and the students spent the week working to identify the killer! They started with learning how to investigate a crime scene and then learned about blood spatter, fingerprints, hair and fibers, shoe prints, and testing evidence. They were treated to several guest speakers, including a Richland police officer, who discussed evidence collection and processing by police. They investigated the crime scene, including collecting evidence and taking photographs, interviewed suspects, and processing evidence which lead them to find the killer. The students enjoyed learning about forensic science, while trying to solve the murder.

The second camp was Robotics camp. 4 Southridge students had to design robots to meet their choice of tasks. These students really got into ways to complete the tasks and building all sorts of different robots. One of the robots was designed to not cross black electrical tape. Another robot is supposed to kick a ball. A third was designed to dance and wiggle. The main challenge for the students is not just building the robot, the problem is programing it to perform the desired action. The students enjoyed building their robots and testing them, so much they complained at the end of each day, when they had to stop!

Written by Megan Pierce

Category: Southridge HS GEAR UP

Published: 09 August 2016

WSU Cougs for a Week

Riverview HS GEAR UP was excited to take students out to the WSU Tri-Cities campus to experience college life at a University. As students were recruited for this summer camp they were pleased to hear they would be attending workshops tailored to their career interests. Some chose Business and others Nursing but there were many options to choose from including Computer Science, Digital Technology & Culture,  Education, Engineering (Civil, Electrical, or Mechanical), Environmental Science,  Humanities & Social Sciences or Psychology.

Cougar Discovery was very insightful for Finley students; they spoke about how they enjoyed their hands on classes and learned new things about their careers. In the Nursing workshop, a variety of activities were done such as practicing how to take a manual blood pressure and running in place to check each other’s heart rates. There was also a professional panel with registered nurses from different departments and companies. This was a great opportunity to show students that a nursing degree can take someone in so many different directions. The jobs that are available vary and are endless.

One student took advantage about learning more about a career in business and said he got to design a restaurant layout. Students were grouped together and bounced different design ideas off one another. This allowed them to meet new people and learn how to work as a team. The collaborations were very interesting and impressive to see.

On two separate days students were taken on a tour of the Hanford site specifically where the Manhattan Project B Reactor resides. Students were bused over to the facility and given an extensive tour explaining everything about the B Reactor. There was a large collection of memorabilia laid out of how things would have looked during the time the B Reactor was on and working. This was quite the experience because it allowed students to learn about this very significant piece of history. Many took pictures while others just enjoyed the tour and looked around. 

As students wrapped up their week of camp, they got to participate in a very interactive presentation on the morning of their last day. This guest speaker was motivational and encouraged students to get to know their peers and communicate. Students were very pleased with their week at WSU Tri-Cities; they expressed how they had fun each day and were excited to return the next day.

Thank you to WSU Tri-Cities and River View High School Principal, Chris Davis, for allowing students to participate in this camp. Students had fun learning more about their career options and meeting new friends from various schools. 

Written by Erika Martinez

Category: Finley GEAR UP

Published: 02 August 2016

Finley Attends CBC

As students started their summer vacations they also took the time to participate in the Columbia Basin College Ready for College Summer Camp. This camp was held during the week of June 20th to June 23rd. Students were greeted each morning by staff members and talked amongst their peers just before they were directed to their assigned classrooms. Every day student’s began their day of camp with a quick interactive entry task including playing ice breaker games such as a meet and greet bingo or getting into groups and playing charades. As the week progressed students became more comfortable and interactive with their classmates, some even developed friendships.

There were four main topics that were emphasized, each having their own day. Monday was centered on introducing students to the college life. Students were given quick campus tours and became familiar with the gym and library. After, students were given a presentation about why you should attend college. This presentation included a detailed explanation of the different incomes of a high school and college graduate. Students were shocked to see that a high school diploma on average only earns $16.50 an hour when a college graduate can make $32.60 depending on their degree and employment. Next, students were given activities to help them figure out what kind of learner they were, visual, audio or kinesthetic. According to the University of Illinois, 40 % of secondary students are visual learners while only 10% are auditory and 50% are kinesthetic. Some students were surprised to find out they were visual instead of kinesthetic learners. The activity included students filling out a questionnaire with various questions regarding how they learned best in different scenarios.

Tuesday focused on students planning for their personal life. The day was started by forming in a circle and getting to know each other and as one student would present their partner would follow. The lesson for that day included identifying if self-talk was a positive or negative activity. Students then participated in a class activity where they had to guess each other’s dreams. This was done by establishing SMART goals and placing them on the life board to represent when they wanted to complete them. SMART goals are supposed to be Specific, Measurable, Action Oriented, Realistic and Timely. The life board was used as a reminder of long and short term goals and to see what was required in order to achieve those goals. As students shared, many realized they had many similar goals. 

Wednesday was all about self-management. A TED talk video was watched named “The Power of Belief.” The talk was based on procrastination and the many reasons not to be an avid procrastinator. The key to be successful and present quality work is preparation. The Talk also made it clear that trying to cram in tons and tons of information the night before is never beneficial because it is not retained for long term shortage. After the TED talk students were given this fun math riddle that made them think how to get four people across a dark bridge while still following all the rules. Some students struggled but all of them enjoyed the challenge.  

Thursday morning students were given six slips of paper where they had to write down three similarities and three differences between themselves and their classmates. They then presented their slips of paper to the class and linked them together forming a long chain. Once the chain was complete, students were taken outside and took a group photo next to the CBC Hawk. Back inside, students began working on their growth poster that they would present that afternoon to their parents at the parent event. A couple of hours later students had gathered in the planetarium to watch a short film about the black hole. CBC admission counselors then presented about the various programs that CBC offers and the pre-requisites that are necessary to enter specific programs. This concluded the week and students were dismissed home and were reminded to bring their parents back to see their posters.   

That afternoon, the CBC camp organized a parent event that allowed students’ parents to stop by and walk around and see every ones poster. While walking through the gallery of posters, parents and students enjoyed pizza, cake, cookies and light refreshments. Students were excited as they walked through the doors to show their parents and fellow classmates their posters they had been working on during camp.

Thank you to CBC and River View High School Principal, Chris Davis for allowing Finley GEAR UP students to attend the camp. Students were granted 2 college elective credits for attending this camp and they were all very excited about that. This camp offered students many resources for different aspects of the college life including an introduction to a new academic environment, how to organize a personal life plan, self, as well as time-management and teamwork. 

Written by Erika Martinez

Category: Finley GEAR UP

Published: 27 July 2016

Southridge discovers Majors & Careers at Cougar Discovery

Southridge High School’s GEAR UP took 16 students to the Cougar Discovery Camp at WSU Tri-Cities from June 27th to the 30th.  This camp offered insight into several college majors including Engineering, Computer Science, Education and Humanities, to help our students have a better understanding of what career opportunities are available in certain majors. Students had the option to transport themselves or ride on a school bus from Southridge to WSU TC’s campus every morning where we met with other GEAR UP programs. We started each day off in the café and lobby area of the CIC building for registration and sign-ins at 8:30 AM. The camp staff then split the students into groups according to what the student wrote as an interest on their registration packets. Groups were led to different classroom where they got an inside look of the major they were interested in.

Classes were led by college professors who taught in these majors. Interactive sessions of what each major was all about and what career pathways could be found in each major took place in the morning and then students had an hour break for lunch! Lunch was provided every day and students could sit inside or outside. It was exciting to see students make new friendships with other students from different schools who shared the same major as a future option! Students spent the last half of the day learning about career development, high school programs, and listening to panels of guest speakers answer questions about majors and careers. Students also had the chance to tour the B-Reactor at the Hanford tour site! Half of the students went on Tuesday and the other half on Wednesday. It was amazing to see that such an influential piece of history is minutes away from where we live.

A program called FOCUS College Matters Institute was brought in on the last day of the camp! The students were split and rotated between three sessions; Financial Aid, Best Fit and Scholarship/School Search. These were interactive sessions that got students involved through games and discussion. They did a great job of balancing fun and learning. Students involved in the GEAR UP program have heard us talk many times about these topics so it was nice to see it being brought up with a new refreshing approach! We ended the day with games and a camp T-shirt! Students had the chance to spend a week analyzing if their ideas of future plans are a good fit for them or if they should plan a new route. This inside look gave our student a huge advantage in college readiness and brings them one step closer to the next big step in their educational journey!

Written by NadiaLisa Martinez

Category: Southridge HS GEAR UP

Published: 27 July 2016