GEAR-UP American Samoa (GUAS), a federally funded education initiative administered by the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) will offer its students unique learning opportunities in areas ranging from sports to algebra to computers as it kicks off its summer camps this coming Monday, June 15. GEAR-UP stands for "Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program", and aims to increase the number of low income students prepared to enter and succeed in post secondary education by providing comprehensive student and family support to cohort groups of qualifying students through their final years of elementary school and into their early stages of high school.

During the regular school term, students participating in GEAR-UP benefit from accessing innovative learning resources designed to enhance their academic performance and improve overall student growth and development. For the summer break, GEAR-UP offers a change in routine through summer camps that combine learning with adventure, fun, and fitness. Now in its third year, GUAS will offer its widest variety of summer camps so far this summer, according to Director Tupua Roy Fua. "Our students actually have nine different summer camps they can choose from," he explained. "We have five sports camps that include athletics, training with the American Samoa National Olympics Committee, DOE Athletics, and the ASCC Physical Education Department, along with regular tennis and table tennis. We'll also hold camps focusing on algebra, marine science, agriculture, and even the computer design program AutoDesk "

While each individual camp lasts for a week, the overall GUAS summer program goes for three weeks, which means that students have the option of taking as many as three different camps if they like. "Students who enjoy fitness training have a nice variety of sports options, while the academic options also cover a pretty wide range," said Fua. "Students can take all sports camps, all academic camps, or any combination of three camps that they choose over the three week period."

GUAS works closely with a number of community partners in organizing its camps. For example, the Department of Agriculture and CNR/Land Grant will conduct the agriculture camp, while the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources will hold the marine science camp. The First Lady's Ta'ita'itama Prevent Underage Drinking Initiative also plays a prominent role in the camps by presenting a workshop on the first day of each camp, in order to share important life building skills with the camp participants in an effort to prevent the use of alcohol and tobacco. The Department of Health also contributes to the camps by providing each student with a height, weight and blood pressure assessment to help them better understand optimum weight levels. GUAS students also have the option of signing up for the third annual Making of Champs football camp from June 19-24, presented by Samoa Baptist Academy and the Department of Education, and/or the second June Jones Academy on June 26 and 27, presented by Samoa Bowl through the Governor's Office.

Reflecting on the effect his program has had so far on the students in its cohorts, Fua stressed that besides bolstering academic achievement, GUAS and similar programs help the community's young adults bridge the gap between high school and college. "I enjoy seeing the high school students on our campus during the afternoons," he said, "because I've heard of many people of the same age who never get to ASCC until after they enter as freshmen. Because the College presents a very different environment from the high schools, some incoming students don't immediately know how to react to it and thus don't perform as well as they're capable of. On the other hand, for our GEAR-UP students, by the time they enter ASCC, should they choose to do so, our campus will already feel like a second home to them. "Basically, we prepare them and their families for going to college. Having spent time on our campus, and having taken classes or tutoring sessions here, they expect to go to college, and dropping out is not an option."

For more information on the GEAR-UP American Samoa, visit their web page at: www.gearup.as