Vocational Student Chosen for National GEAR UP Youth Summit

ASCC Press Release Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Nu’uuli Vocational Student Chosen for National GEAR UP Youth Summit

By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer

When a group from GEAR UP American Samoa (GUAS), along with its community partners, travels to San Francisco in mid-July to attend this year’s National Council for Community and Educational Partnerships (NCCEP) Annual Conference, they will also chaperone a young woman from the local GEAR UP cohorts who was selected from among hundreds of applicants nationwide to participate in the NCCEP Youth Leadership Summit. Sandra Purcell, 16, a junior at Nu’uuli Vocational Technical High School, will join her peers from across the United States at the Summit, which takes place in San Francisco from July 17th – 20th.

GUAS, a program hosted by the American Samoa Community College (ASCC), has sent representatives to the national conference for the past several years. Beginning in 2010, GUAS also encouraged its students to apply to attend the corresponding Youth Summit, with Anthony Talosaga emerging as the first successful applicant last summer. With Talosaga’s travel and summit participation having worked out positively, GUAS again offered its students the opportunity to apply for this year’s event.

Sandra Purcell, the daughter of Mele Lusinita Purcell and Mino Gaya Purcell, has participated in GUAS since the program’s inception in 2006. She has earned an impressive list of achievement awards in academics and sports from both Tafuna Elementary School and Nu’uuli Vocational Technical High School. “I am excited and prepared to attend, as I know I will make new friends from across the nation,” said Sandra when informed of her selection by the NCCEP. “I am also expecting to learn more on how I can be a better advocate for my peers, school and my community and voice the challenges we encounter within our education system and be heard.” On her application to attend the youth summit, Sandra was asked to address the questions, “What are the toughest educational challenges that you and your peers face?” and “What solutions would you recommend to overcome these challenges?” In response, she produced a three minute video on the subject of school bullying.

GUAS will cover Sandra’s travel costs, while the NCCEP will host her for her stay in San Francisco. GUAS staff members Juliet F.C. Pen and Norah Filivaa will act as her chaperones. While Sandra participates in the Youth Summit, Tupua and the GUAS personnel will collaborate with officials from the Boys & Girls Clubs of American Samoa to give a presentation titled "Unlocking a Potential Bridge to the Future" as part of the main conference. Some of the local GEAR UP partners confirmed to also attend the conference include representatives from Taitaitama, Faasao/Marist High School, and the Department of Health.

In an effort to include student perspectives and the opinions of young people, the NCCEP created national opportunities for youth to participate in the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference. More than 200 GEAR UP high school students have participated in the Youth Leadership Summit since 2003. The NCCEP has been partnering with GEAR UP for Excellence to present the Summit since 2005. Blending leadership development with the experience of participating in a professional conference, the Summit teaches participants how to be advocates for their schools and communities, empowering them to become the voice for their peers. Youth leaders, known as GEAR UP Scholars, work together to compile a Summit report focused on what educators should consider as they design strategies and programs for increasing student achievement.

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