The Education That Works team recently visited the GoCenters and the G-Force Mentors from UT Pan Am University and the Texas State Technical College in Harlingen. What an amazing impact they are having on the lives of high school students and Creating a College Going Culture.

If you don’t know about the centers, here is the background:

In 2001, the 77th Legislature adopted Closing the Gaps, a proactive plan designed in part to increase Texan’s participation and success in higher education. As a result, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board launched College for Texans, a marketing and outreach initiative in 2002 with the slogan “Education. Go Get it”. The goal of the campaign is to enroll 630,000 academically prepared students by 2015, 430,000 beyond the 200,000 expected to attend college at current rates. A crucial part of the campaign is reaching these students by building strong partnerships in communities across Texas.

As part of that network, Go-Centers are being implemented in communities across the state to help encourage these students to obtain higher education. These Go-Centers provide students with access to information about higher education, while also reaching out to those who may not have previously considered continuing their education beyond high school. More than a clearinghouse of information, they are centers of energy around which students, parents and educators can explore new and exciting options for the future.

To run these Go-Centers, trained and qualifying college students, called the G-Force visit the Go Centers to assist students with the college going culture. Most of the students in the G-Force have themselves overcome overwhelming obstacles to achieve their higher education goals, helping them serve as a magnificent testimony to the high school students.