Alumni Highlight: Solara Rosales and the Partnership with GEAR UP
March 30, 2026
GeoFORCE and GEAR UP alumna Solara Rosales’s pathway from student to professional is a full-circle story that highlights the partnership between two programs. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federal grant program created to increase post-secondary education access for students, typically at Title 1 schools where there is a high low-income student population. The program provides tutoring, mentoring, and college preparation for students, beginning in middle school and continuing through their first year of college.
GEAR UP students are offered external opportunities with partnering programs to further guide them toward college. GeoFORCE became one of these partnering programs in 2013.
“[GEAR UP] talks about college [to students] all the time, but sometimes they don’t really get the experience of what it’s like to be on a college campus or participate in a career field that they’re interested in”, Rosales says.
This is where GeoFORCE is able to fill in gaps and provide students with those experiences. Through the programs, Rosales gained early exposure to the idea that higher education was not only possible, but achievable.
“I distinctly remember when GEAR UP was announced to us,” she says. “It was one of those moments where you start thinking about your future in a different way.”
This partnership ensures that students like Rosales are not only encouraged to pursue college, but are given meaningful opportunities to explore what that future could look like.
“It was a really great experience and I truly think it helped shape me into who I am, going on these out-of-state trips and learning new things that I didn’t think that I would be interested in.”
One of the most defining moments of Rosales’s GeoFORCE experience came during her trip to Oregon.
“We were all standing around the tide pools, just quietly observing,” she recalls. “Everyone was in their own world, looking at the organisms. It was peaceful—and I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of reassurance, like this is where I’m supposed to be.”
For the first time, Rosales recalls she could clearly envision herself pursuing a career in the geosciences. She applied to study geology in college, and while her path ultimately took a different direction, the experience remained a standout moment.
“Even though I didn’t end up becoming a geologist, that moment showed me what it feels like to really connect with something,” she says. “It gave me a clearer sense of what I wanted for my future.”
Rosales began working with GEAR UP as a camp counselor, before climbing the ranks to become a college advisor. She now works for the program as a Project Manager and Camp Director. In her role, she supports students as they navigate college pathways, offering guidance, resources, and encouragement, along with all the preparation for the GEAR UP summer programs.
Because she has been in their shoes, she is able to use her lived experience to support the students currently in GEAR UP, and advocate for those students to apply to GeoFORCE. This fall, she directly recruited dozens of GEAR UP students and helped them complete the GeoFORCE application. Now, over 35 new GEAR UP students are expected to attend the GeoFORCE 9th Grade Academy this summer.
Rosales’s experience proves just how impactful the partnership between GEAR UP and GeoFORCE can be. Together, the two programs create a support system for students like Rosales. GEAR UP reinforces academic readiness and college access, while GeoFORCE provides hands-on learning experiences that made STEM careers a potential pathway. By investing in these students early and remaining connected through their four years of high school, GeoFORCE and GEAR UP are not only preparing students for college. They are creating future professionals, mentors, and leaders who return to uplift the next generation of students.
She reflected that her time in GeoFORCE left her with a lasting impact that exceeded her four summers.
“Those connections that we make in our camps are really important because that creates our network, it’s amazing to see the skills I learned as a student and didn’t even [realize] I was learning. It’s definitely bigger than geology. It does a lot more than just open up that career path. It helps them develop those skills they need, that we all need”.
Written by Eleanor Cote
