Partner Spotlight: Student Success Agency
and Jeannine Huenemann | February 15, 2023
GEAR UP has partnered with the Student Success Agency to expand support for students.This partnership allows our students access to on-demand mentoring, tutoring, and other support via their electronic devices, and is available through their first year of college.
Students at Clearfield High School learned how to connect with SSA Agents so that they can access support. (Credit SSA)
Rubi Franco Herrera from SSA visited GEAR UP schools in February to introduce SSA. (Credit SSA)
SSA offers American Preparatory Academy WVII students tutoring support from their electronic devices for over 100+ subjects. (Credit SSA)
Lebron James broke the all-time scoring record in NBA history. Do you want to know what GEAR UP students at Clearfield High School and American Preparatory Academy West Valley Campus II have in common with Lebron? They have personal agents.
Because like Lebron, GEAR UP students are making history by being some of the only students in Utah to have access to Student Success Agency’s innovative services.
Student Success Agency is an agency that represents students instead of celebrities and athletes. They work with students across the country in 500-plus schools. Rubi Franco Herrera, the company's Head of Impact, visited GEAR UP students at Clearfield High School and American Preparatory Academy in February to introduce SSA. She showed them how to access services through their GEAR UP grant three program.
Herrera is a first-generation, Mexican-born speaker and community organizer passionate about uplifting the experiences and voices of marginalized communities through the power and connection of storytelling. She joined SSA while attending the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and went on to receive her Masters of Social Work.
Her writing and work centers around creating safe spaces for the exploration of building identity, finding your voice and empowering youth to leave their mark in the world through positive social change. She walked GEAR UP students through the process of accessing SSA services to receive mentoring, tutoring, and postsecondary support anytime, anywhere, from their electronic devices.
"Agents meet students where they are and provide a stable environment for students to engage in services after school and on the weekends," said Herrea. "Agents are near-peer mentors from diverse backgrounds who champion students through their everyday lives, which empowers students to show up and perform in school but also reach out and ask for help when managing challenges and issues. It is bigger than school. It is the overall well-being of students that we care about, which is why USU GEAR UP is a perfect partner!"
The SSA Agent model allows USU STARS! GEAR UP students to connect with on-demand assistance so that they can access support through their freshman year of college rather than relying solely on the short school day. Schools that partner with SSA can increase learning time by 76,000 minutes, equivalent to an additional school year.
SSA also provides real-time tutoring to students from their electronic devices for over 100+ subjects. Students have to text their agent to get sessions scheduled around their classes.
"We treat students like high-end talent because today, students may not have large contracts or endorsement deals by Nike, but they are building their brand for college applications, scholarships, and the workforce. Students' schedules are full with school, work, and extracurriculars, so we want to make it easier for them to get the support they need," says Herrera.
SSA has subject matter experts for tutoring support, as well as FAFSA and scholarship application help. They are available during and after school and on the weekends. This service is currently available to students in our grant three schools. Learn more about the program and how to get started with SSA. Handouts for students are also available.