News

Student Spotlight

GEAR UP Alumni Spotlight: Brenda Palacios Rodriguez
Jun 30, 2025

Brenda Palacios Rodriguez never envisioned herself attending college. 

GEAR UP, Front page
MTCC Campus Visit

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 visit, of course! 

GEAR UP, Front page
CAP Through our Eyes: Wes Calbreath

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, educatio

Front page, GEAR UP

Exploring Boundless Horizons: Appalachian State GEAR UP's Unforgettable Summer of College Bus Tours
Aug 14, 2023

Time to load the buses! Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a summer of adventure and exploration!

GEAR UP, Front page

Academic Innovation Conference 2023
Jul 3, 2023

On June 12, 2023, ten cohort LEA districts, eleven third-party organizations, and cohort higher education partners sent over one hundred...

GEAR UP, Front page
Third Place Team Members- Brandon Cabrera, Lucero Escobar, Syla Ervin, Chase Miller,Raffell Vasquez-Gutierrez, Noelia Sanchez, and Coach Megan Helton

TRIO Scholars Bowl 2023
Mar 31, 2023

Congratulations to the Appalachian State Upward Bound Scholars' Bowl teams that participated the in the NC TRIO State Student Initiative Competition earlier this mont

Upward Bound
Joan and Jared meet during Upward Bound Summer Program

Upward Bound Lighting the Way
Mar 21, 2023

Upward Bound is doing good things, not only for the students they serve, but for families and the High Country Community as a whole. 

Upward Bound
Family Design Night Photo Montage

Evolution of the STEM Based Family Design Nights
Mar 17, 2023

All systems go. T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, ignition 2, 1. We have liftoff on the Appalachian State GEAR UP Partnership’s Family Design Night.

GEAR UP
Christian Covington- Avery & Williams Acad Adviser

College Advising Reflection
Feb 10, 2023

Growing up homeschooled, I hadn’t thought much about college; I had always assumed I would go to school somewhere and probably major in history.

Advise NC
Western Rural Teacher Leader Network Announcement

Western Rural Teacher Leader Network Announcement
Feb 1, 2023

The Rural Teacher Leadership Network (RTLN), is designed to bring together diverse groups of educa

GEAR UP, Front page
GEAR UP & Participate Learning Join Partnership to Focus on Western NC Schools

GEAR UP & Participate Learning Join Partnership to Focus on Western NC Schools
Jan 17, 2023

A new partnership between GEAR UP and Participate Learning seeks to join forces with 10 western North Carolina school districts to help promote college and career readiness...

GEAR UP
Baylee Smith, Ashe Adviser

Behind the Scenes of First Generation
Jan 9, 2023

Growing up, I knew nothing about college. My mom and dad had me soon after they graduated high school. My dad attended trade school and still is a truck driver.

Advise NC, Front page
Rachel Nelson

Perspective | North Carolina schools are anything but ‘low-performing’
Dec 16, 2022

Over the past three months, our team from the Empowering Teacher Learning (ETL) project at Appalachian State University has been traversing western North Carolina and engaging...

Empowering Teacher Learning, Front page