Michigan seniors take center stage at first statewide GEAR UP Kick-Off to College event

FLINT, Michigan —The Lansing Center buzzed with cheers, music, and possibility as nearly 1,700 high school seniors from every corner of Michigan poured through its doors for the first-ever statewide Michigan GEAR UP Kick-Off to College on Sept. 18. What started as a bold idea among planners — to create a single, massive launch point for seniors’ postsecondary journeys — came to life in a way that exceeded every expectation. 

Eleven of the state’s fifteen public universities, including Western Michigan University, Wayne State University, Ferris State University, and Michigan State University, filled the downtown venue with representatives eager to meet students and their families. Together, they transformed the cavernous hall into a space alive with guidance, encouragement, and celebration.

Central Michigan University’s GEAR UP program, which works in partnership with the International Academy of Flint and Flint Southwestern Classical Academy, brought 40 seniors from Southwestern to attend the event. Wearing their blue shirts with high school transcripts in tow, the air on the bus ride down was abuzz with excitement and anticipation. 

The start of the event opened with a thunderous roll call as each university’s GEAR UP program was announced, accompanied by loud applause, dance moves, and cheers. Students waved their respective program banners and shouted, turning a statewide attendance call into a rallying call for their futures. That energy carried through the day as students flowed from table to table, connecting with college representatives, alums, and GEAR UP staff and volunteers. The MI GEAR UP event became a testament to the fact that this was more than a college fair — it was a turning point.

One of the most talked-about moments came during on-site admissions. More than 150 students left the event with college acceptance letters in hand, some to Central Michigan, Saginaw Valley, and the University of Michigan-Flint. Five out of ten Southwestern students who participated in on-site admissions were accepted on the spot, with many preparing to reapply or apply for the first time during Michigan’s free college application month in October. 

For them and so many others, it meant the dream of college transformed from distant hope to immediate reality. Students stepped away from admissions tables with tearful smiles, calling home to share the news, taking photos with their friends and GEAR UP staff and volunteers, and ringing a cowbell to announce their acceptance across the convention center. In real time, futures were being written.

Equally moving was the GEAR UP alum panel. Graduates from past cohorts, now thriving post-college and into their careers, shared their stories of challenges, the support that helped them succeed, and how GEAR UP was a change agent in their lives. Each panelist repeated a similar sentiment: they wished an event like this had existed when they were in high school. Their presence and their words underscored a powerful truth for the Class of 2026: you are not alone.

GEAR UP — short for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs — has long worked to increase college readiness among students from low-income and academically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Lansing kick-off was the culmination of years of outreach, mentoring, and preparation. Every handshake, acceptance letter, and conversation with someone carried the belief that higher education should be accessible to every student.

As the day wound down and buses prepared to depart, the sense of achievement was unmistakable. Students headed home not only with tangible next steps but with a renewed confidence in what lay ahead. The event’s success set a high bar for demonstrating how powerful it can be when schools, families, and institutions unite behind a shared goal. 

The ripple effect of the Michigan GEAR UP Kick-Off to College was only beginning. For the GEAR UP team and their many partners, the event stands as a testament to what can happen when a community believes in its young people and works together to turn dreams into reality. It was proof that years of collaboration had paid off in a single, extraordinary day.

For those 40 Southwestern students, it represented one critical aspect of being born and raised in Flint: that despite the violence and beyond the water crisis, Flint students can, will, and are achieving their goals.

To learn more about Michigan GEAR UP programs, visit their website.