Math Blast Off
UTC was most recently awarded a 7-year GEAR UP grant in 2018 to serve the graduating classes of 2024 and 2025. That project has ended. We will update this page in the event UTC receives a new GEAR UP grant."
Program Goals:
- Build skills students will need in their math class in the coming year
- Expose students to hands-on, real-world application of math concepts to increase interest in the subject
- Familiarize students with the college setting
- Establish a mentoring relationship between middle school and college students
Role of Mentors:
- Lead a group of four to six rising 11th & 12th grade students each afternoon
- Guide students through a series of campus and community activities designed to make them feel at home on a college campus
- Assist in raising students' self-confidence by placing them in unfamiliar and challenging situations in which they can discover the satisfaction of learning new skills
Some of the program's afternoon activities include:
- A campus scavenger hunt
- Dissecting sharks and a visit to the TV studio.
- The GEAR UP Olympics (involving egg toss, limbo, wheelbarrow race and similar games)
- A visit to the climbing wall at Coolidge Park
- Swimming in the ARC