Cottonwood HS Senior Earns $2,000 Scholarship for College
Paying for college is a huge barrier for students. Like many schools, Cottonwood High School in the Granite School District, offers GEAR UP-sponsored events, workshops, and guidance in the form of scholarship application advice and search services. These programs help students start making plans for their future.
Isaac Gutierrez won a $2,000 scholarship and plans to attend Salt Lake Community College
Isaac and another Cottonwood High School student share their WSU Design-Build Day bingo cards.
Isaac Gutierrez, a senior at Cottonwood High School in Murray, is planning for his future now. He learned about Weber State University’s Design-Build Day when GEAR UP visited his English class to talk about college tours and essay writing workshops. Isaac was very interested but felt like it might be a waste of time since paying for college was a barrier for him. Now he sees it differently after winning a $2,000 scholarship at this year’s Design-Build Day to attend Salt Lake Community College next fall.
“I am so glad I went,” said Isaac. “I am now encouraged to go to college even more! It now seems possible when before it felt so hard.” Part of Isaac’s inspiration comes from his grandfather. He had always admired him as a skilled carpenter and saw the value in repairs that he made around the house. In spending time with him, Isaac became interested in both engineering and construction. He went to the Build-Day event in hopes of learning more about construction, especially internships and job opportunities.
Weber’s Design-Build Day is an annual event held virtually this year on Mar 5. It focuses on careers and connecting students with internship and career pathways in architecture, engineering, and construction. Students gain valuable information through keynote speakers and breakout sessions with business and industry leaders.
Receiving a $2,000 scholarship helped to reduce some of Isaac's concerns about paying for college. Since winning the scholarship, Isaac has met with Monica Perez, college access advisor at his high school, to plan his next steps and find additional financial aid. He also attended the SLCC Days orientation to prepare him for life beyond high school. Isaac now sees a way to obtain his goal of working in the engineering/construction field.
“There are expensive things that are nice to buy and have,” said Isaac, “but there is no better currency than education.” Isaac is an observant person and sees the connection between behavior and consequences. He watched an uncle that earned a good wage, but wasted much of it, struggle to make ends meet. Isaac sees that better choices, additional education, and budgeting could have improved his uncle’s situation.
Cottonwood High School has partnered with the USU STARS! GEAR UP program since 2017. There are currently three GEAR UP grants at the school supporting the classes graduating in 2021, 2023, and 2024. The GEAR UP team at Cottonwood is led by site coordinators Lorraine Levanger-Behling and Sharla Bynum, and also includes Jennifer Vasquez-Acevedo as a data assistant and Ashley Johnson as a GEAR UP assistant.
The USU STARS! GEAR UP program is part of the Center for the School of the Future in the Emma Eccles Jones College. The program will continue to focus on helping students by reducing barriers to higher education and building a college-going culture.