ROCK SPRINGS – Western Wyoming Community College’s Board of Trustees approved the reception of a $602,718 grant for the college’s GEAR UP program Thursday evening.
The board accepted the grant as part of its consent agenda, where it also hired two GEAR UP employees.
According to meeting documents, the new GEAR UP grant was approved Sept. 1 as part of a statewide grant that “is reapproved annually based upon successful progress of the program and use of the grant dollars.” The college received approval from the state GEAR UP grant manager and its federal program officer, which started the first year of a seven-year grant cycle.
The GEAR UP program serves students from seventh grade to their freshman year in college and allows the college to serve hundreds of students throughout its five-county service area. The program focuses on comprehensive mentoring, as well as financial aid advising, academic planning, and advising and career counseling. For fiscal year 2025, the college will maintain the largest GEAR UP program in the state.
The college also hired BreAnna Herron as the GEAR UP programming coordinator and Kelli Hurst as the full time GEAR UP advisor.