The Gear Up for Success – Project Ignite AmeriCorps position aspires to provide local high school youth participating in the GEAR UP Manchester/Manchester Community College partnership with opportunities to develop college aspirations by engaging with current college students, exploring career pathways, and learning about the culture of college. This will happen through a series of interactive activities and events that engage Gear Up Manchester students with the Manchester Community College campus, students, and faculty -including an on-campus summer program. We want GEAR UP students to ignite their passion and be future ready.

The MCC Athletics and Engagement Coordinator will assist the Director of Athletics and Community Engagement in developing an athletics program at MCC. As a new endeavor, the Assistant will assist the Director in building community partnerships and relationships to establish the Program, and building pathways for future MCC student athletes into our Programs. The Assistant will work closely with current MCC students to advertise and recruit students into the Program and help build it into our campus culture. This position will be a great fit for someone who loves athletics and sees the value in offering post-secondary athletics as a way to keep students engaged in education and connected to their community. Effective Assistants will bring passion and initiative to help create the Program, flexibility to take on any number of tasks related to Program creation, and also will work well taking direction from and supporting the vision of the Director of Athletics.

The MCC AmeriCorps member will serve as the Social Media Engagement Coordinator and work directly with students to create social media content that represents and describes the MCC community. The Coordinator will work with campus departments to create a system for disseminating useful information to help students engage effectively with campus resources and learn about the supports available to them. The Coordinator will have the opportunity to use their creativity to generate ideas for student engagement. They will have the flexibility to design programs and activities that best engage students in developing and sharing content about life at MCC, with a goal of creating a framework that can be sustained into the future.

The Academic Support Coordinator will assist in the development of programming targeted at summer melt. They will provide ongoing support and capacity for other GEAR UP NH initiatives including the student success committee, mentoring programs, and career panels. Assist in communications across the grant to help bolster messaging for low-income or first-gen students. The Coordinator will help build capacity within the GEAR UP NH partner school districts by creating programming structure for the staff at the district.

The member at Nashua Community College

1) Support student leadership programs as a strategy to increase student success for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students.
2) Encourage volunteering and develop service initiatives to engage low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented college students.
3) Develop and expand programs that increase college access and student
success for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students.
4) Expand and build capacity for a peer support network/mentor program that can support low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students to persist and succeed.

It is the goal of the VISTA placed at NHTI – Concord’s Community College, in Concord, NH to utilize campus resources to increase the accessibility and retention to higher education for low income students in the greater Concord area. The VISTA will have a variety of opportunities, which include, but are not limited to, supporting the campus food pantry by helping develop sustainable practices, mentor federal work study students and help them develop refreshing, engaging, and diverse programming aimed at social issues in the community, and nurture community partnerships while also having the opportunities to create new ones.

The goal of the AmeriCorps Member is to assist GEAR UP staff in strategically achieving the three main goals of the program: increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education of their low-income cohort students, expand students’ aspirations and increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education, and increase students’ and families’ knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing. The AmeriCorps member will strengthen the Manchester High public high schools’ abilities to implement robust programming and encourage students’ preparation for success as well as expand the capacity of GEAR UP by instituting measures to sustain a college-going culture at the site beyond the cohort’s presence.

GEAR UP Manchester is looking for an AmeriCorps member interested in exploring how data can be used to further educational programming. You will join our GEAR UP team and will help us accomplish our goals: provide academic support, improve the high school graduation rate and educate students and their families on post-secondary options. The Data Specialist role will collect and analyze the work we do with students and build capacity in our data analysis work! This position will be in person at the Manchester High Schools, but will allow for some remote work if desired.

The Stakeholder Engagement Specialist will work along side the GEAR UP New Hampshire Leadership Team to support programming for low-income/first-gen students between GEAR UP Schools and NH Higher Ed institutions. They will assist with the creation and development of parent and care taker programming in GEAR UP communities. The member will partner with NH Scholars and create sustainable partnerships with business leaders in the community. Finally, they will assist in building sustainable distribution practices for the GEAR UP NH Scholarship.

The Academic Support Coordinator will assist the NH Scholars Project Director to support school districts across the state of NH. They will create and develop new Scholars Year-end celebrations. The Coordinator will foster new relationships to bring industry specific panel discussions to low-income, rural districts. They will also assist with planning and developing a series of community service events to bring high school students and local business leaders together for a common cause. This position is great for someone looking to create the foundation of this year one position.

The member serving at Spark Academy will support students that are struggling with academics, create and define a positive school culture that includes student voice, maintain/run weekly activities to support school culture, monitor and support student academic programs.

It is the goal of the VISTA placed at White Mountains Community College, in Berlin, NH to utilize campus resources to increase the accessibility to higher education and retention of low income students in the greater North Country region. The VISTA will have a variety of opportunities, which include, but are not limited to, working with student leaders to streamline the enrollment process for low income K-12 students and first generation college students, recruiting student volunteers for various service programs in the region, and encouraging student involvement in service and leadership events and student organizations and utilize academic success resources in order to promote college retention.

The YWCA AmeriCorps member will learn the inner workings of a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center. They will help build a system of intake for clients experiencing crisis that honors their humanity while allowing them to seek and gain services in an effective and efficient manner. Also, the member will create client manual to to disperse to YWCA clientele that outlines all community resources available for assistance. They will also build training materials for staff on the newly designed intake process.

The Postsecondary Programming Specialist will work alongside the GEAR UP New Hampshire Leadership Team to provide programming and support to GEAR UP NH students. They will create and develop new and innovative postsecondary plans for students and stakeholders at partner schools. The Specialist will help create sustainable plans for information hubs that support students at NH Schools. They will also create plans for a FAFSA completion campaign to support low-income students across the districts. Finally, they will foster relationships with NH Campuses to offer college field trips for students.