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...
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...
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...
GEAR UP Alumni Spotlight: Brenda Palacios Rodriguez
Jun 30, 2025
Brenda Palacios Rodriguez never envisioned herself attending college. “I felt like I personally wasn't worthy of it,” she said, reflecting on...
Interactive McDowell Technical Community College Visit Welcomes GEAR UP Students to Campus
Jun 26, 2025
What do you get when you cross a slushie machine, Play-Doh, and a gourmet homemade lunch? You get a 6th grade McDowell Technical Community College vis...
CAP Through our Eyes: Wes Calbreath
Jun 23, 2025
In this series, we feature individual CAP staff members and dive into their unique perspectives on college access, education, the role of our grant pr...
Academic Innovation In Action
Jun 20, 2025
On Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11, 180 educators, administrators, and partners convened at the Reich College of Education at Appalachian Stat...
GEAR UP Alumni Spotlight: Peyton Cline
May 14, 2025
Peyton Cline always knew that she was going to attend college.Growing up in a family of die-hard Duke fans that prioritized her education, Peyton was ...
2025 Swain County STEAM Expo
Apr 28, 2025
On Thursday, April 24, the STEAM Expo took place at Swain Middle School for the second year in a row. This event exposed students to different id...
Making Meaning in the Wake of Helene
Mar 26, 2025
In September 2024, western North Carolina experienced what has been described as a once-in-a-100 (to some once-in-1000) year storm. Hurricane Helene h...