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DC GEAR UP Students Participate in First Spring Break College Tour

Thursday, April 27, 2006
Students Visit Colleges in North Carolina and Georgia

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Students and Staff from the State Education Office program DC Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (DC GEAR UP) participated in the first DC GEAR UP Spring Break College Tour during DCPS Spring Break, April 10th – 13th.  One group of students visited schools in North Carolina while the other explored sites in Atlanta, GA.  The purpose of these trips was to expose DC GEAR UP students to a variety of college options and settings outside the DC Metro area and to build and encourage peer relationships among DC GEAR UP students that extend beyond individual schools and sectors.

The students taking part in the trip to North Carolina were chaperoned by DC GEAR UP staff members Barry Brinkley, Sheila Henderson, and Sanada Spellman.  The students attend more than 4 area high schools.  Students visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Greensboro, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, North Carolina Central University, Duke University, and North Carolina State University.  Women’s Basketball player Monique Currie, who was recently drafted to play in the WNBA, treated students to a tour of the Duke University athletic facilities.  At North Carolina State University the Eta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority treated the students to a step show. 

The students taking part in the Atlanta trip attend 9 local high schools and were chaperoned by DC GEAR UP staff members Yuliana Del Arroyo, Barrington Honesty, Jennifer Mitchum, and Ebonee Price.  Students visited Emory University, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College (young women only), and Morehouse College (young men only).  Students also visited the King Center and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Corretta Scott King Memorial Sites.  The Coca Cola Company provided students with lunch, gifts, and a college/career discussion with Mona Kelly, Director of Human Resources for the Supply Chain Division.  And the trip would not have been complete without a star-studded trip to the Lenox Mall where students spotted, stopped, and had pictures taken with many local stars. 

According to DC GEAR UP Program Director Pamela Taylor “The purpose of this trip was to provide more opportunities to connect DC GEAR UP students in cohort wide activities and to continue engaging them in early college preparedness.  This trip was an overwhelming success!”  Students continue to express gratitude to all who took part and assisted in the trip, and they can't wait for next year!

For more information about DC GEAR UP, please contact Pamela Taylor at [email protected] or (202) 724.2146.