We’ve done so much together already.

See some of the highlights of the GEAR UP Achievers program below.

Husky STEM Club

The Husky STEM Club was established to maintain our connection with students during the pandemic. Each month featured a new STEM Challenge, requiring students to employ their creative thinking and problem-solving skills, using basic materials to accomplish the assigned task. Several challenges included activities such as constructing a boat to test its coin-holding capacity, making a piece of paper soar through the air, building a rocket, embarking on a nature scavenger hunt, and more. Participants were required to capture a photo or video of their completed challenge and interact with us on social media. Students who engaged in the challenge received a welcome letter from the Husky STEM Club, an official membership card, and an at-home Chemistry STEM kit.

 

STEM Mini-Grants

In partnership with the Kent, Tukwila, Auburn, and Renton school districts, our goal at GEAR UP Achievers is not only to provide support for students to succeed in college, but also to assist them in pursuing degrees in STEM-related fields. The STEM mini-grant program aims to empower educators to explore innovative methods of cultivating STEM interest among students within the classroom.

Mini-grant funds can be allocated for acquiring STEM materials, establishing after-school partnerships and programs, procuring classroom supplies, and enhancing STEM-related curriculum. Teachers, principals, librarians, GEAR UP coordinators, and other school staff collaborated on diverse proposals, encompassing initiatives such as obtaining robotics kits for makerspaces, acquiring electrophoresis machines for science classes, and ensuring calculators for all students. Over the past few years, schools have been awarded thousands of dollars in funding to support inventive ideas that will actively engage students in the realm of STEM learning.