Dina Ibarra appointed new GEAR UP director

Dina Ibarra, Ed.M. has been appointed the new director for UW GEAR UP/Rise Up team effective Jan 3, 2023. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a national college-readiness program designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. OMA&D, in partnership with 13 rural school districts in eastern Washington and NW Washington, sponsored the GEAR UP Rise Up Partnership to strengthen students’ pathways to college and careers by utilizing and leveraging science, technology, engineering ,and mathematics (STEM).

For the last five years Dina has served as the Director for the TRIO Educational Talent Search program which serves almost 700 students across six school districts in the Yakima Valley and Skagit Valley. Dina has provided strategic direction for student educational programing, managed activities to meet goals and objectives of the program and supported the ETS team as they counsel and advise their middle and high school students. Prior to joining the University of Washington ETS program, Dina served in leadership positions with Heritage University CAMP program and Washington State University Office of Admissions. In total Dina has over twelve years of experience working with students and families from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to expand access to higher education. Dina has also stepped up to leadership serving as past president of the Washington TRIO Association and been an active member of the Northwest Association of Educational Opportunities Program (NAEOP).

Dina states, “I am thrilled to join the University of Washington’s GEAR UP RISE UP team to continue to impact the lives of our students, families, and communities through college readiness programs and support services. I look forward to working with our school district partners and GEAR UP school staff to fulfill GEAR UP’s vision that all students are academically, socially, and financially prepared to enter and complete a postsecondary program. “ On the personal side, Dina hails from Grandview, WA and is a two-time graduate from WSU earning an Ed.M. in Educational Leadership and her B.A. in Humanities. Dina has two children, Ezra who is 16 and Jael who is 20. Dina’s hobbies all revolve around her children, family, and close friends.

Join us in congratulating Dina and wishing her well in her new role.

UW GEAR UP Students at Mount Vernon work with WWU

WWU’s Nick Galati helps Mount Vernon students build microscope – and STEM interest – in summer college prep program.

Fans are blowing in the classroom on a hot summer day as a group of Mount Vernon High School ninth-graders are building a high-powered microscope, their focus on a small tube where a lens is stuck.

It’s the final piece of the microscope that they’re putting together at Little Mountain Elementary School under the eye of WWU Assistant Professor of Biology Nick Galati. The experience is part of a collaboration between Galati, as part of his National Science Foundation CAREER Grant, and UW GEAR UP, with a goal of creating an intensive STEM experience for this small group of Mount Vernon High School students and preparing them for college.

Read full article: https://westerntoday.wwu.edu/features/wwus-nick-galati-helps-mount-vernon-students-build-microscope-and-stem-interest-in-summer

National GEAR UP Week

Date: Week of September 26-30
Location: Nationwide

Join us and the thousands of students, parents, teachers, partners and college access professionals from across the nation to celebrate GEAR UP and the successes of our hard work and dedication.

GEAR UP West Conference

Date: October 23-25, 2022
Location: Utah Valley University, Salt Lake City, UT

GEAR UP West is an annual collaborative regional conference for college access and success practitioners primarily from the Western part of the United States. Participating states have included Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. GEAR UP programs in these states together serve more than 200,000 low-income and historically underrepresented students and their families.

GEAR UP Team Retreat

UW GEAR UP team retreat: a 2-day working/networking event in Leavenworth, Washington, for UW GEAR UP central staff, GEAR UP Site Coordinators, and GEAR UP support staff. Attendees were able to network, share best practices at sites, learn how to navigate and analyze their program data, and begin planning for the upcoming school year.

Click on photo for full size.

Goldendale School District

East Valley one of 13 school districts to benefit from near $30 million grant

FASFA applications, personal letters and finding out which school would most likely accept you could have some students worried.

However, the Department of Education is going to make that path to college a little bit easier for students at 13 school districts across the state of Washington.