Gear Up University

This summer, 181 students from Anaheim, Katella and Loara high schools got a firsthand experience of what it is like to be a college student.

Through Cal State Fullerton’s “GEAR UP University” program June 20-July 1, the 10th and 11th grade students spent two weeks in college.

As part of the program, they attended English and science classes, spent a day in the labs dissecting fetal pigs and dogfish sharks and visited the Fullerton Arboretum to learn about the different biomes.

“The goal is to have them visualize themselves in college and see that higher education is an attainable goal for each of them,” said Adriana A. Badillo, director of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.

In the English classes, students developed portfolios of their work, and through science lessons, they learned different aspects about nature and the environment. Participants took field trips to San Diego Zoo Safari Park to study wildlife adaptations and to Catalina Island to explore sea life in their natural habitat. Both trips connected what the students learned in the classroom and in the lab.

Students also toured the campus and dined in the university’s new residence dining hall, the Gastronome, which will open for the fall semester.

Anaheim High School science teacher Alison P. Loeper said bringing the students to campus was an enlightening experience since many had never been to a college campus.

“GEAR UP helps the kids realize that college is a true option,” said Loeper, who teaches biology and chemistry.

Josh Barbosa, 15, who will be a sophomore at Anaheim High School in the fall, enjoyed visiting campus. “It was like ‘wow!’” he said. “I didn’t realize this is what college is all about!”

As a result of being in the GEAR UP program, Barbosa has set his sights to go to college to study law and criminal justice.

“Being here on campus showed me what college is really going to be like,” Barbosa said. “The program has really helped to prepare me.”

July 5, 2011