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Advise NC at App State and Office of Rural Promise Staff Present the Listening Tour

Advise NC at Appalachian State Helps High School Seniors Take Their Next Steps
Nov 7, 2025

The midway mark of the fall semester has come and gone, bringing thousands of students across the state to a critical point in their senior year ...

Appalachian GEAR UP hosts multiple events throughout October

A Month in Review: October
Nov 3, 2025

The month of October proved to be a busy one for Appalachian GEAR UP schools! From preparing students for the FAFSA, to getting families on college ca...

Ashe County High School Countdown to College Event Hosted by Advise NC Next Step Adviser, Lorena Calvillo

Ashe County High School "Counts Down" to College
Nov 3, 2025

On Tuesday, October 14, Ashe County High School participated in College for North Carolina’s “Countdown to College Week” with an event plan...

RTLN Participants Engage in Professional Development Session

NC Public School Forum Launches Second RTLN West Cohort
Oct 28, 2025

The North Carolina Public School Forum’s Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity, in collaboration with Leading EDge Learning and...

Fellows from App State include (left to right) Dr. Dramaine Freeman, Katie Hubbard, Allyson Murphy, Dr. Kate Watson, and Dr. Rachel Askew

Education Policy Fellowship Program 2025-2026 Cohort
Sep 24, 2025

The Public School Forum has announced the newest cohort for the 2025-2026 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). Five faculty and staff members f...

Polk County Students Participate in Leadership Camp at Isothermal CC

Isothermal GEAR UP Hosts Middle School Leadership Camp
Sep 5, 2025

On July 23rd, Isothermal Community College hosted a one-day leadership camp for rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in Polk County. This GEAR UP c...

Upward Bound Students Participate in Summer Academy

Upward Bound Summer Academy Offers Students a Taste of College
Jul 23, 2025

The 2025 Upward Bound Summer Academy has officially kicked off and is in full swing. Described as a “mock college experience” by Academic Coordina...

Alex Chough, president of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), right, presents the 2025 GEAR UP Professional Leader of the Year award to Corinne Smith, director of App State’s GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and deputy director of College Access Partnerships, during the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference on July 14 in San Francisco.

App State’s Corinne Smith honored as 2025 national GEAR UP Professional Leader of the Year
Jul 21, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Corinne Smith, director of Appalachian State University’s GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate...

Student Spotlight

GEAR UP Alumni Spotlight: Bella Powers
Jul 13, 2025

The GEAR UP Guarantee is a guaranteed admissions program to Appalachian State University for students in participating GEAR UP Appalachian programs. I...

Katie Matheson

Former GEAR UP Student Returns as Chaperone
Jul 11, 2025

Katie Matheson, a 2020 graduate of Ashe County High School, remembers vividly the first time she joined a GEAR UP college bus tour as a student. She v...