Nearly 100 high school students from throughout New Mexico, including Mountainair High School, traveled to Albuquerque to participate in the GEAR UP New Mexico Student Leadership Conference last month to engage them as young leaders in their communities.
GEAR UP New Mexico, a division of the New Mexico Higher Education Department, is a federally-funded program that aims to increase college and career readiness for seventh to 12th-grade students. GEAR UP New Mexico partners with seven school districts in the state that serve a high proportion of rural and first-generation students. The U.S. Department of Education renewed funding for the program in 2020 at $31.4 million for the next seven years to support around 7,000 students and their families each year.
GEAR UP New Mexico partners with eight high schools in seven school districts: Albuquerque Talent Development Academy, Bernalillo High School, Capital High School, Española Valley High School, Los Puentes Charter School, Mountainair High School, Socorro High School and Taos High School.
According to a press release, students attended hands-on workshops covering topics like teamwork, communication and understanding educational resources available to them during the conference. All the workshops were designed to help the students become young leaders in their schools and communities.
“The Student Leadership Conference was an incredible opportunity to bring students together from our seven GEAR UP school districts to ignite their passion for leadership, mentorship, and civic engagement,” said Corine Frankland, GEAR UP State Director. “Watching them learn how to make a positive difference in their schools, communities, and across New Mexico was truly inspiring – they are the future change-makers of our state.”
In addition to the workshops, students heard keynotes from Ernesto Mejia and Lilyan Prado-Carillo, both from youth engagement company CoolSpeak, who drew upon their personal journeys to engage with their communities, use their experiences as sources of strength and grow into leaders.
Mountainair High School students also had the opportunity to explore the world of health care during their GEAR UP workplace visit in November to Presbyterian Medical Clinic. Nurse Alicia Kayser helped students engage in hands-on learning about medical professions, gaining insights and inspiration for future careers in health care.
