Many seventh- and eighth-graders are in neutral or park when it comes to their post-high school plans.

These 28 Stanfield seventh- and eighth-graders may soon be the

exception. Many of these students could be on the verge of shifting

into high gear in a drive toward college, thanks to GEAR UP, a

federally funded program EOU is a part of. It is a program that was

celebrated nationally and at EOU Friday.

GEAR UP is a program designed to help students from low-income

families attend college. Friday marked the 10th anniversary of GEAR UP

and the first National GEAR UP Day, one designated by Congress.

EOU commemorated it by bringing 28 Stanfield seventh- and eighth-graders to campus.

The students participated in college-level class activities led by Tawnya Lubbes, an assistant professor of education, and Lt. Col. Richard McKim, a professor of military science with EOU’s GOLD/ ROTC program. The first, led by Lubbes, involved locating buildings on campus by using map reading skills. The second, led by McKim, involved a lost-at-sea survival exercise.

Collegiate experiences like the one the students enjoyed Friday are foreign to almost all of the Stanfield students’ parents and family members. Few if any of their parents and siblings have attended college, said Les Balsiger, EOU’s director of high school initiatives.

Balsiger is among the EOU representatives who has been meeting with students at Stanfield for the past year as part of GEAR UP. They will be providing admissions and financial aid counseling in the future but now are primarily striving to get students thinking about college, something unconventional in families where no one has gone past high school.

“A lot of their parents say ‘high school was good enough for me, it should be for you,”’ Balsiger said.

Family precedent has an enormous influence on whether teenagers decide on whether to attend college.

“Once a family member breaks the barrier others (in the family) will follow,” Balsiger said.

Balsiger noted that one of the girls in GEAR UP from Stanfield has a sister in Hermiston who will attend EOU next year as a freshman, the first in her family to attend college.

Balsiger said the Stanfield girl also plans to attend EOU in large part because she wants to follow her older sister’s footsteps.

Stanfield is one two schools in EOU’s GEAR UP program, the other is Irrigon. High schools and middle schools eligible for GEAR UP are those in which 50 percent of students are from families that qualify for federally funded free and reduced price lunches.

EOU is the only four-year university in the state involved in GEAR UP. The program’s name is an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Education for Undergraduate Programs.

One of the purposes of GEAR UP is to demystify the process of qualifying for, applying for and paying for college. Balsiger strives to let students know that they have a chance to get much of their college paid for if they earn good grades, making them eligible for scholarships,and if apply for grants and other financial aid.

Many students in GEAR UP get a head start on college by attending an annual summer institute for high school students at Eastern. Students can earn up to 12 college credits at the summer institute funded by GEAR UP. Students get a genuine taste of college life, taking a rigorous curriculum while living in Eastern’s residence halls.

Fifty students attended the summer institute in 2008 and 70 came this summer.

EOU has been offering these summer institutes for four years. About 20 percent of the students who attend the summer institutes have gone on to apply for admission to EOU their senior year of high school.

This is welcome news for Balsiger, who has a wide range of administrative duties at EOU. He lists working with GEAR UP as one of his most rewarding responsibilities.

“I love opening doors for young people,” he said.